Eden: The Beginning
by Bosh'tet
Summary: Written around the events of Mass Effect 1, Eden: The Beginning aims to show a more human side of Commander Shepard and will focus around the Shepard / Tali romance. If all goes as planned, this will be the first story in a series of three covering the Mass Effect trilogy.
1. Preface

**Eden: The Beginning**

Preface

_e·den /ˈēdn/ - A state of perfect happiness or bliss._

Wow. It's been a long journey, but I've finally started writing **Eden: The Beginning**.

This story began forming in my head shortly after I finished playing Mass Effect 2 for the first time. In my original playthrough, I had intended for my Shepard to have a romance with Miranda. Typical, right? I was well on my way to winning over Miranda when I stumbled across the Tali romance. I was converted to a 'Talimancer' almost immediately after hearing Tali's adorkable confession of her feelings for Shepard.

After I completed the game, I was content. I liked the story, Tali's character development seemed to be particularly well done, and Tali's romance was well written, at least in my opinion. However, I soon realized that I wanted more, and I began reading through fanfiction that expanded on the romance. Eventually I stumbled across the To Survive series written by Calinstel, and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

When I finished reading Calinstel's series, I decided that I would write my own fanfiction around the Mass Effect Universe. My original story took place during the events of Mass Effect 2, was written for me and me alone, and had many problems. Over the next few months section after section was written and rewritten, until I could finally call it version two. However, it still was not where I wanted it to be, and so I began the long process of once again rewriting many parts of the story.

**Eden: The Beginning** is the first fanfiction I've written around Mass Effect 1. If everything goes as planned, it will be the first story in a three-story series covering the entire Mass Effect trilogy. The **Eden** series will follow the general plot of the games but will have many events of my own creation, and will focus on the Shepard and Tali romance, hence the series' name.

Before closing, I'd like to thank a few people.

First, BioWare, whose amazing talent created the games that I will always remember. Despite my disappointment with the ending to the Mass Effect trilogy, you'll always hold a special place in my heart for creating the best series I've ever played.

Second, Calinstel, whose stories inspired me to start writing my own.

Finally, and certainly not least, my good friend Alex, who supported my forays into writing and helped me become a better writer.

I hope you enjoy reading **Eden** as much as I am enjoying writing it.


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

Ambassador Udina straightened his collar and checked his hair while he quickly skimmed over a list of candidates for Spectre induction on his omni-tool. Finally satisfied that he was presentable, Udina joined the video conference.

"Have you prepared a list of candidates?" asked Admiral Hackett.

"Yes, I have," Udina replied. "Sending the data to your terminals now."

There was a brief pause while the data was reviewed. "I like the sound of Hatkins," said Captain Anderson. "Kid's got spirit."

"He doesn't have enough experience," replied Hackett. "He'd never be taken seriously. Besides, he's already shown that he's no leader."

"Well, what about Shepard?" asked Udina. "He's a spacer. Lived aboard starships most of his life."

"Military service runs in the family. Both his parents were in the navy," Anderson replied, reading off of the list that Udina had supplied.

"He proved himself during the blitz," said Hackett. "Held off enemy forces on the ground until reinforcements arrived."

"He's the only reason Elysium is still standing," said Anderson, nodding.

"Well, we can't question his courage," said Udina.

"Humanity needs a hero, and Shepard's the best we got."

"If we are in agreement, I'll make the call," said Udina. When no one spoke, he terminated the video conference.

Stretching, Udina took another sip from his coffee-and-alcohol combination and set to work contacting Shepard.

* * *

**A/N: **I know, very short. Only the prologue is this length, the following chapters will be much longer.


	3. Chapter 1: Evaluation

**Chapter 1: Evaluation**

Commander John Shepard checked his armour one last time as he made his way towards the Normandy's bridge. As he approached the CIC, he heard Joker's voice over his earpiece.

"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence."

John nodded to crew members that acknowledged his presence as he walked past them. He was still wondering why Anderson had refused to provide the crew with any mission details, but kept his concerns to himself. In the background, Joker continued to provide the status of the relay transit.

"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination… relay is hot, acquiring approach vector."

John entered the cockpit and stood beside Nihlus, a turian Spectre who was along for the ride. He watched as Joker expertly piloted the Normandy; he was in his element.

"All stations secure for transit," said Joker. "The board is green. Approach run has begun."

The Normandy sped towards the gigantic mass relay, which would create a virtually mass-free corridor through space and throw them through it, allowing travel at speeds much faster than light. The glow given off from the heart of the relay cast a ghostly light into the Normandy's bridge as it approached.

Joker sat up in his seat as he said, "Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…"

John unconsciously held his breath as the relay was activated. Relay transit was the riskiest part of space travel, and even though the Normandy was new and well built the possibility for problems to occur still existed. Within five seconds, they were nearing their destination.

"Preparing for deceleration!" said Joker, his hands dancing across the Normandy's controls.

The Normandy began to slow at incredible speeds as it was released from the relay's grasp. As they slowed past the speed of light, Joker began routine checks on the Normandy's systems.

"Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emissions sink engaged. Drift… just under fifteen-hundred K."

"Fifteen-hundred is good," said Nihlus, as he walked out of the cockpit. "Your captain will be pleased."

Once Nihlus was out of earshot, Joker said, "I hate that guy."

Kaiden Alenko, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat beside Joker, said, "Nihlus gave you a compliment… so you hate him?"

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. That's incredible! Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."

John smirked. Some things, including Joker's attitude, would never change.

"You're paranoid!" Kaiden retorted. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that is the _official_ story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

"They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs," John agreed.

"So there's more goin' on here than the Captain is letting on."

Their conversation was interrupted by Anderson's voice over the comm-link. "Joker! Status report."

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain," Joker replied. "Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find us a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that Commander?" Joker asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"I'm on my way," said John, as he exited the cockpit.

John walked briskly aft towards the conference room. Whatever was going on, he was about to find out.

"…there's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission," Jenkins was saying as John approached.

"That's crazy," said Doctor Chakwas, who was standing beside him. "The captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre."

Turning to face John, Jenkins said, "What do you think Commander?"

"Relax, Corporal," John said as he stopped. "A good soldier stays cool, even under fire."

"Yes, sir."

John smiled as he stepped past Jenkins and entered the conference room. Nihlus was standing at the far end of the room, alone. Captain Anderson was nowhere to be seen. As he approached, Nihlus said, "Commander Shepard, I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

"About what?" John asked, frowning. He didn't dislike the turian, but simply knew nothing about him and therefore did not trust him completely.

"I'm interested in this world we're going to - Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"I've never been there."

"But you know of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?"

John crossed his arms. What was Nihlus suggesting? "Do you know something?" John asked, stepping towards Nihlus. It wasn't a threat, but John was beginning to get suspicious.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Their conversation was interrupted as Anderson entered the room. He glanced at John and then said, "I think it's about time we told the commander what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run," said Nihlus.

"I figured there was something you weren't telling us," John replied. "Engaging the stealth systems was a huge giveaway."

"We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime," Anderson continued. "That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

"There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir."

"This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

John raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I thought the Protheans disappeared fifty thousand years ago?"

"They did," said Nihlus, "But their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives - it's all based on Prothean technology."

"This is big, Shepard," said Anderson. "The last time we recovered a Prothean beacon was on Mars, and it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander," said Nihlus. "This discovery could affect every species in Council space."

"Then I'm glad you're here," said John. "It never hurts to have a few extra hands on board."

"The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard. I've been sent by the council to evaluate you."

"Evaluate me? For what?"

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time," said Anderson. "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council."

John nodded. It was common knowledge that humans felt that they deserved a seat on the council. "How do I fit into this?"

"The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze," said Nihlus. "Not only did you survive, but you saved the colony and proved to be a good leader. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

"I assume this is good for the Alliance," John said, looking at Anderson.

Anderson nodded. "Earth needs this, Shepard. We're counting on you."

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander," said Nihlus. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

"You'll be in charge of the ground team," said Anderson. "Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"Yes sir," John replied. "Just give the word, Captain."

"We should be getting close to Eden-"

Anderson was cut off by Joker's voice over the comm system. He sounded slightly panicked. "Captain! We have a problem."

"What is it, Joker?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime. You better see this."

"Bring it up on screen."

The three turned to face the large screen on the conference room's far wall as it came to life. John heard the distinct sounds of battle as a soldier fired at an unseen enemy. In the background, he heard a grenade explode and a man screamed.

Suddenly, the soldier rushed towards the camera. "Get down!" she shouted, pushing whoever held the camera back into cover. She stood over the camera, firing, until a large explosion cut off the video for a few seconds.

John glanced at Anderson, trying to gauge his reaction. When the video resumed, another soldier was in front of the camera, speaking. "We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties. I repeat, heavy casualties! We can't… need evac!"

The camera moved and John caught glimpses of soldiers looking up at the sky, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around them. The camera was then pointed upwards and a gigantic ship could be seen. It appeared to have legs of some kind, and red electricity snaked around its hull. John stared in disbelief. He had never even heard of a ship that big, let alone seen one.

Suddenly John heard an explosion and gunfire that sounded close just as the video was cut off and replaced by static. No one in the room moved.

"Everything cuts out after that," said Joker. "No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at thirty eight point five," said Anderson.

Joker complied and the colossal ship reappeared on the screen.

"Status report."

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area."

Anderson took a moment to consider his options, and then said, "Take us in Joker. Fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention," said Nihlus. "It's our best chance to recover the beacon."

Turning to Nihlus, Anderson said, "Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold."

Nihlus nodded and headed out of the room.

"Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in."

John saluted Anderson and then quickly exited the conference room. He grabbed Jenkins and motioned for him to follow as he walked down a small flight of stairs and entered the Normandy's elevator.

"What's going on?" Jenkins asked as he caught up to John.

"The mission's gone bad. The colony is being attacked, and we're going in," John replied as he activated the elevator.

"You think they're after the beacon, Commander?"

"Maybe. That thing would be worth a fortune on the black market, but I've got a bad feeling about this. Keep your head down, Jenkins, and you'll do fine."

"Yes sir."

The elevator opened to reveal the Normandy's cargo bay, and the two men walked briskly across the large space to their storage lockers. John grabbed his assault rifle and pistol from his locker and quickly made sure they were in working order while Jenkins struggled into his combat armour.

Noticing that Jenkins was unnaturally quiet, John said, "You'll do fine, Jenkins. We've got a Spectre watching our backs."

Jenkins nodded slowly. "That's kind of what I'm worried about."

John looked at Jenkins and said, "You're worried because you don't know him, or you're worried because he's a turian?"

"A bit of both I guess. I've got nothing against aliens, Commander, but they tend to look down on us. And besides, Spectres are mean sons of bitches."


	4. Chapter 2: Fist

**Chapter 2: Fist**

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya approached the krogan with caution. When he held up his hand to stop her from passing, she said, "I have an appointment with Fist."

The krogan activated his omni-tool and typed into it lazily, taking his time. After confirming the appointment, he stepped aside and let her pass.

The sounds from the club faded as Tali quickly walked down the hallway. She did not feel comfortable trading her data with a criminal, but had decided that she would do what she must in order to ensure her safety. No matter how powerful the person was who was hunting her, the Shadow Broker could provide a safe haven.

The door to Fist's office slid open as Tali approached. Entering, she glanced around the room and instinctively memorized positions of cover and escape routes. Moving further into the room, she could see a man sitting on a couch. He had short, dark hair, a wide jaw, and looked like he meant business.

As Tali cautiously approached, Fist said, "So, what brings a quarian to see me?"

"I need protection," Tali replied. "I understand you have connections with the Shadow Broker."

"Yes, but protection doesn't come cheap."

"I have data to offer in return."

"Show me the data, and we can get down to business."

Tali took a step back. "No. This data is for the Shadow Broker alone. I want to meet him in person."

"No one meets the Shadow Broker and lives, quarian."

"Then I'll take my business elsewhere."

As Tali turned to leave, Fist said, "Wait, wait. Can you at least tell me the nature of the data you have? It will help me gauge its worth."

Tali thought back to the recording she took from the geth unit and shuddered. "I took it from a geth unit. That's all I will tell you."

"Interesting," Fist said, as he pondered his options. Saren had been clear; kill the quarian and wipe all traces of the data she held. But, if he played his cards right, he could kill the quarian and recover the data in secret. That way, he held power over Saren, and that could come in handy further down the road. "I'll tell you what. Since geth data could be particularly useful to the Shadow Broker, I'll contact him for you and try to set up a meeting. No promises, though."

Tali nodded quickly, and Fist proceeded to activate his omni-tool. He typed out a quick message, but instead of pressing send he pressed the button labeled 'save draft'. After making a show of waiting for a reply, he said, "He has agreed to meet you."

Tali let out a sigh of relief. "When and where?"

"You know the alley just outside the club? Head out the door, cross the bridge, and turn left. The Shadow Broker isn't on the Citadel, so he has to fly in. He'll meet you there in five hours."

"Thank you for helping me."

Fist almost felt bad that he was sending Tali to her death as she exited his office, but quickly shook the feeling when he thought of the immense power that Saren had promised him. He activated his omni-tool once again and typed out a new message. Satisfied that the assassins would show up on time, he swallowed the remaining whisky in his glass and settled back into the couch.

Tali hurried out of Chora's Den and boarded a taxi. She entered a destination in the wards into the shuttle's navigation system and settled back into the seat. As the shuttle made its way through the Citadel, Tali made a mental list of the items she needed. Incendiary rounds for her shotgun were a must. When dealing with mercs and other unsavoury characters, rounds that burned quickly through armour were invaluable. She could also use some grenades, as they provided an easy way to end a firefight quickly, but they were expensive. Instead, she would have to settle for proximity mines.

The cab let Tali out in front of a small store in a drab back alley. The sign on the front of the store advertised omni-tool upgrades and other tech, but Tali knew better. Entering, she approached the salarian at the counter.

"What can I do for- you again!" said the salarian.

"Hi Tolik," Tali replied, trying to sound cheerful.

"Are you in a merc group or something? You go through ammo faster than a vorcha!"

"Something came up. I need my shotgun modified to fire incendiary rounds, and a bunch of proximity mines."

Tolik shook his head. "This stuff doesn't come cheaply you know! I had to sell my soul to get you that shotgun last time. Nothing more for free."

"I have credits this time, and enough to repay my previous debt, like I promised."

Tolik tilted his head sideways and said, "Interesting. Honest person in the wards. Most interesting."

"I don't have a lot of time, Tolik."

"Of course, I'll get started right away. Pass me your shotgun."

Tali removed her shotgun from its holster on her back and handed it to him. Tolik took it and silently disappeared into the back of the shop. From where she stood at the counter, Tali could hear the salarian cursing under his breath as he made the necessary modifications. After what seemed like an eternity, Tolik returned with Tali's shotgun and a crate full of proximity mines.

"Sorry for the wait," said Tolik. "Proximity mine almost went off. Faulty detonator."

Tali took her shotgun and re-holstered it. She eyed the mines warily and said, "They won't go off on me, will they?"

"No, no. I checked them all. How many mines do you need?"

"Five should be enough."

Tolik took five proximity mines from the crate and carefully laid them out on the counter, being careful not to press the activator button. "That's going to cost a lot."

"All I have is three thousand credits," said Tali. "How much can I get for that?"

Tolik looked down at the ground and then back at Tali. "You have been kind. Give me the three thousand and we will consider it even."

Tali nodded and passed Tolik her credit chit. "Thank you."

"Yes, yes. Now get out before C-Sec comes in and finds all this."

"Thanks again, Tolik," Tali said as she exited the shop.

As Tali headed towards the transportation terminal, she realized that she didn't have any credits left for a cab ride. Sighing, she began the long walk back to Chora's Den. As she walked, Tali replayed the conversation with Fist in her head. She already distrusted him because he was a criminal, and after remembering how eager he was to help her after hearing about the geth data, Tali decided that she was glad she had bought the shotgun upgrade.

* * *

Tali's legs were burning as she finally arrived outside Chora's Den. Heading up a small ramp, she unholstered her shotgun and entered the alley that Fist had mentioned. She was three hours early, but wanted to scope out the meeting place before the Shadow Broker arrived.

The first thing Tali noticed was how narrow the alleyway was. Making mental notes of escape routes and tactical positions, Tali walked the length of the alley twice. Finally satisfied that she could escape if need be, she walked towards a pile of crates in a corner. Checking that no one else was present, Tali removed the OSD containing the geth data from a pocket in her enviro-suit and stashed it behind the crates. This way, even if something happened to her, the data would only get to who she wanted.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Tali exited the alleyway and found a bench nearby. Sitting down, Tali began to wait.

* * *

**A/N: **One the reviewers mentioned that they wanted more custom content, so I wrote this chapter. After I get further into the plot, there will be a lot more of these. Please, write a review and let me know what you think so far. It means a lot and really helps!

Just to clarify: this takes place during the attack on Eden Prime, which will be the next chapter


	5. Chapter 3: Eden Prime

**Chapter 3: Eden Prime**

John turned as Anderson and Kaiden approached. Saluting Anderson, he said, "We're ready, Captain."

"Good," Anderson replied. "Your team is the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site."

"What about survivors?" asked Kaiden, as he pulled on his helmet.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon is your top priority!"

The bay door to the cargo hold began to open as Joker's voice came over the comm-link. "Approaching drop point one."

Nihlus, who had just exited the elevator, walked over to the group and readied his weapon.

"Nihlus, aren't you coming with us?" asked Jenkins.

"I move faster on my own," Nihlus replied. "I'll go on ahead."

As Nihlus took a running leap out of the cargo hold, Anderson said, "Nihlus will scout ahead and feed you intel throughout the mission. Other than that, I want radio silence."

"Understood," said John.

"The mission's yours now, Shepard. Good luck."

John glanced at Kaiden and Jenkins, and then moved towards the edge of the bay door. As Joker announced that they had arrived at drop point two, he looked down to ensure the drop wasn't too far and jumped. As he landed he rolled to distribute the shock throughout his body. Jenkins and Kaiden were close behind.

"This is just great," Jenkins muttered as he pulled himself to his feet. "I would have preferred a Spectre watching our backs as opposed to being on our own."

"I'll watch your back, Jenkins," said John. "You take point."

"Something feels wrong about this place," said Kaiden, as he looked upwards. The cloudy sky had a red tinge to it, and the sounds of battle could be heard faintly in the background.

John unholstered his assault rifle. "Let's move. Keep your heads down and we'll be fine."

Jenkins unholstered his own weapon and proceeded slowly. He moved silently through the grass, taking care to avoid stepping on anything that would make noise. John and Kaiden followed closely, scanning the surrounding landscape for concealed enemies. John thought he saw movement near a large boulder, but relaxed slightly when he discovered that it was just a bush. As Jenkins approached a large boulder on the edge of the path they were following, he said, "Oh god."

On the boulder were two badly burnt corpses. John moved closer and quickly scanned the bodies. "What the hell happened here?" he said to himself, as he quickly reviewed the scan data.

Kaiden moved forward and did a scan of his own. "I've never seen anything like this. According to the scans, these burns are the product of extremely high temperatures - much hotter than your average fire."

Taking a moment to evaluate the situation, John said, "We need to keep moving. Let's hope we don't run into whatever did that to those people."

Jenkins said, "Yes sir!" and continued, taking extra care to walk without making a noise. As the men approached a clearing, John signalled for them to stop. He scanned across the clearing, looking for enemies. His gut told him that there was something sinister here.

"Shepard?" asked Kaiden, not understanding why they had stopped.

John scanned the landscape. Down the small hill, there were a multitude of boulders that could provide a convenient ambush location. He waited another ten seconds, and seeing nothing that indicated an enemy's presence, signalled for Jenkins to move out. Jenkins moved forward slowly, scanning from left to right for hostiles. Suddenly, a pair of geth drones came swooping down from above, firing at Jenkins. He barely had time to look up before he was cut down by the drones' weapons.

Kaiden reacted first, using his biotics to grab one of the drones and throw it against the boulders below. The drone smashed into a rock hard, and Kaiden finished it off with his pistol before it could recover. John reacted nearly as quickly, dropping to one knee for increased accuracy. Shooting with the skill that comes only with hundreds of hours of practice, John quickly took out the remaining drone with his assault rifle.

After ensuring there were no more hostiles, John glanced down at Jenkins, who was lying still in the clearing below. He rose to his feet and hurried down the hill to Jenkins' side.

"Ripped right through his shields," Kaiden said sadly. "He never had a chance. What the hell were those things?"

"Looked like geth to me," John spat.

"I wonder what they're doing out from behind the Perseus Veil," Kaiden commented. "They haven't been seen in nearly two hundred years."

John quickly activated his omni-tool and scanned Jenkins' body. "He's still alive!" John exclaimed. "Cover me."

Kaiden quickly moved into a strategic position and crouched down, covering John while he worked. John took out a packet of medigel and ripped open Jenkins' shirt. Bullet holes riddled his midsection; there was no way to repair the damage in the field.

Jenkins suddenly opened his eyes and said hoarsly, "Don't waste the medigel, Commander."

John helped Jenkins lean against him, so that it was easier for him to breathe. Jenkins coughed and spat out blood on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Jenkins," John said quietly.

"It's not your fault," Jenkins croaked with a smile. "You had my back Commander, just like you said."

John stayed with Jenkins until life left his body and he went limp. John closed Jenkins' eyes and then stood. "We'll see to it that he receives a proper service when the mission is complete. But right now we need to stay focused."

"Aye, aye, sir," Kaiden said quietly.

* * *

The Illusive Man took a drag from his cigarette as he spoke to his top operative, Miranda Lawson. "What about Project Hammer?"

"Preliminary research shows that the weapon would be practical to build," Miranda replied. "The research team needs more funding, though."

"Then give it to them. I want results that make me happy within a month."

"Yes sir," said Miranda, as she approved the extra funding on her omni-tool. "Anything else?"

"Project Pervade?"

"So far it has been unsuccessful. The operatives were unable to infiltrate C-Sec."

"Care to elaborate?"

"The Executor seems to be wary of any applicants sponsored by Ambassador Udina. Apparently he also has a substantial amount of connections. He knew our operatives were Cerberus."

The Illusive Man rubbed his forehead in frustration. He could already feel a headache coming on. "I want a full internal investigation."

"Means of interrogation?"

"Anyone who has done anything remotely suspicious will be interrogated with force. Find that damn mole!"

"Yes sir. I'll have that started right away."

"Good. When you find the mole, bring him to me. I want to make an example out of him."

"Of course."

"Now, find me another way to infiltrate the Citadel."

"I'll start looking."

The Illusive Man terminated the call and leaned back into his chair. Despite the setbacks, he had faith that his plans would succeed in the end.

* * *

Tali paced back and forth in the alley, her frustration growing. It had been nearly six hours since her meeting with Fist, and the Shadow Broker still had not arrived. Checking for the hundredth time that her OSD containing the geth data was still where she had left it, Tali finally decided to confront Fist.

Walking briskly, Tali exited the alley and entered Chora's Den. The bouncer, who recognized her from earlier that day, allowed her to pass without incident. As she entered Fist's office, he looked up in surprise.

"You!" he said. "Err... how was the meeting with the Shadow Broker?"

"There was no meeting," Tali retorted. "He still hasn't arrived. What is going on?"

Fist swore quietly to himself. Leave it to assassins of all people to be late. He activated his omni-tool and made a quick note to have his assassins assassinated, and to hire a new hit squad. Forcing himself to smile, Fist looked up at her and said, "There has been a delay. The Shadow Broker was held up by... other matters."

Containing her anger, Tali said, "How much longer until he arrives?"

Fist typed into his omni-tool, and to his dismay, discovered that his assassins had been discovered by C-Sec. He was unsurprised; the assassins had not asked for many credits for their services, and as a result they had been amateurs. He could have the krogan take her out, hell he could do it himself, but if he wanted it done smoothly and without any ties back to him he would need professionals, and it would take some time to hire a squad.

"Approximately twenty-four hours," Fist replied finally. "His shuttle must be repaired before he can depart."

"I don't have that long!"

"There's nothing I can do. If you're worried that someone is after you, I can offer protection on behalf of the Shadow Broker until he arrives."

Tali considered her options. She could reject Fist's offer and hope that she wouldn't be found until the Shadow Broker arrived. She doubted that Fist could be trusted, however she was placing trust in him already to organize a meeting with the Shadow Broker. Finally, she decided to accept his offer. "Yes, please."

"Make yourself comfortable in the bar. If there's trouble, my men will protect you."

"Thank you," Tali said as she exited the office. She returned to the bar and chose a table from which she could see the entrance and sat down. The heavy bass of the music made her head throb, but at least she felt somewhat safe blending in amongst the bar's other patrons. Making herself comfortable, Tali began to wait once again.

* * *

John took point and began moving towards their objective. As he eased his way through the large boulders, checking for geth behind each, Nihlus' voice came over his comm-link.

"Shepard," said Nihlus. "Do you copy?"

"I copy," John replied. "What's your status?"

"I've got some burned out buildings here… bodies. Lot's of bodies."

"The geth just slaughtered them?" asked Kaiden.

"It seems that way. I'm going to take a closer look, I'll try to catch up with you at the dig site."

John deactivated the mic in his helmet to ensure he wouldn't accidentally broadcast and continued forward. He led Kaiden into a forest with colossal trees that seemed to touch the clouds. Suddenly, a lone geth drone flew out from behind a tree and began firing. John squeezed off two shots before the geth's accurate rounds forced him to take cover behind the tree nearest him.

In the background, John heard other drones firing, followed by the unmistakable sound of a pistol returning fire. "There's someone still alive on the other side of these trees," John shouted to Kaiden. "We have to get to them!"

Kaiden nodded and peered around the tree he was hiding behind. The geth drone was totally focused on John's location, waiting for him to reveal himself. Kaiden took the opportunity to carefully line up a shot and take out the drone. Within ten seconds, however, two more drones swooped down from above and laid fire on Kaiden's location.

John returned fire as Kaiden quickly pulled his head back behind the safety of the tree. Noticing that the drones were now close enough, John withdrew his shotgun instead. The shotgun's spread of rounds was effective and quickly took down the two drones. Satisfied that all hostiles had been eliminated, John signalled Kaiden to follow and hurried to the edge of the trees.

Below, an Alliance soldier was rushing up the hill towards them. John recognized the soldier; he had seen her on the emergency broadcast that had been sent to the Normandy. Two geth drones pursued her, their rounds barely missing as she did her best to dodge them. Suddenly she dropped to the ground and rolled onto her back, firing at the drones. As the drones dropped, ridden with bullet holes, the soldier pushed herself to her feet and continued running. Seeking what the soldier continued to run from, John scanned down the hill and spotted two standard geth platforms, who had just impaled a colonist on a strange device.

The soldier took cover behind a large boulder, but the geth units had already locked on to her location. Splitting up, they began to approach her cover from either side. Acting quickly, John grabbed his sniper rifle and took careful aim. The geth that was approaching from the right had its head blown apart as the round from John's rifle tore through it. Kaiden, with the use of his biotics, aided the soldier in taking down the remaining unit.

John lowered his rifle and approached the soldier. She wore white armour with pink accents, and was fairly attractive. She holstered her rifle as John approached and said, "Thanks. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

"Nice to see you're still in one piece," John said. "I saw you on the emergency broadcast."

"I wasn't about to go down without a fight."

"Are you injured, Williams?"

"Few burns and scratches. Nothing serious. The others… weren't so lucky."

"What happened here?" asked Kaiden.

"Oh man…" Ashley shook her head in sadness. "We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut our communications. One of our techs was working on getting our comms back, and didn't even realize he started broadcasting. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"What happened to the rest of your squad? Are they all down?" John asked. "We have some medigel, but not much."

"We tried to double back to the beacon, but we walked into an ambush. The geth slaughtered my squad. I don't think any of the others- I think I'm the only one left."

"This isn't your fault, Williams. There's nothing you could have done. Don't blame yourself."

"Yes sir," Ashley replied with a slight nod. "We held our position as long as we could, but the geth overwhelmed us before long."

"The geth haven't been seen on this side of the Perseus Veil in nearly two hundred years," said Kaiden. "Why are they here now?"

"They must have come for the beacon," Ashley replied. "It's the only explanation that makes any sense."

"Is the beacon still here?" John asked.

"It might be. The dig site is close, just over that rise."

"We could use your help, Williams."

"Aye, aye, sir. It's time for payback."

"Move out," John ordered, as he holstered his sniper rifle and withdrew his assault rifle.

Moving down the steep incline, John glanced at the colonists who had been impaled by the geth. He could have sworn one of the bodies twitched, but he convinced himself that it must have just been the wind blowing a piece of clothing. Continuing towards the dig site, John quickly ducked into cover as a geth trooper fired at him. Kaiden reacted quickly, knocking the geth aside with his biotics. Taking advantage of the brief suspension of enemy fire, John lobbed a grenade towards where he had last seen the geth. When the grenade exploded, he was rewarded with electronic components flying through the air.

Ashley moved forward. Two rounds from her rifle destroyed the remaining geth that was crawling along the ground, its legs destroyed from the explosion. After the geth fell silent, John quickly moved up to Ashley's location and entered the dig site. To his dismay, the beacon was nowhere to be seen.

"This is the dig site," Ashley said. "The beacon was right here. It must have been moved."

"Lets hope it wasn't moved by the geth," Kaiden muttered.

"There's a research camp just up the hill. Maybe it will give us some answers."

"I hope so," said John. "Let's move."

Kaiden and Ashley took point, and the three began trekking up the steep incline. John scanned for enemies warily; this would be the perfect location for an ambush as the enemy could shoot from higher ground.

When they were about half way from the top, Nihlus' voice interrupted John's thoughts. "Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport up ahead, I'm going to check it out. Meet you there."

"Copy," John replied, as he reached the top of the hill.

The first thing John noticed as he entered the research camp was the thick, black smoke billowing out of one of the buildings. To his left, there were more impaled colonists.

"They hit the camp hard," Ashley commented, shaking her head sadly.

"More of those things," Kaiden muttered, looking at the large spikes. "Sadistic bastards."

Glancing back at the impaled colonists, John was alarmed to see that their skin had begun to pale, and what looked like implants of some kind now covered their bodies. "Heads up!" John shouted, as the spikes began to retract and the husks got to their feet. As he began to shoot, John counted six husks running towards him. "Kaiden!"

Kaiden heard John shout and understood what he meant. There were six husks and three of them. Quickly activating his omni-tool, Kaiden put maximum power to his biotic implants and sent four of the husks flying backwards. Switching to his shotgun, Kaiden rushed towards two of the husks that were now sprawled out on the ground.

Changing tactics, Ashley grabbed her shotgun and yelled, "I'll get the ones that come close!"

John nodded and began firing at the husks that were further away. His assault rifle burned through their flesh easily, but they continued to charge. Ashley's shotgun, however, proved too much for the husks to handle, and they quickly dropped as they came in range. Confirming that no more husks were present, John finally lowered his rifle.

"Only an enemy who can't feel pain could have sustained an attack like that," Kaiden shuddered. "What the hell did the geth do to those people?"

"They definitely weren't human anymore," Ashley replied. "Not in the mind, anyway."

John approached one of the husk's bodies and scanned it with his omni-tool. "We'll get this analyzed later, but right now we need to catch up to Nihlus. He may need our help if he gets ambushed by those things."

"Commander, we need to check for survivors before we leave the camp," said Ashley. "I swore an oath to protect these people."

Glancing around the camp, John could only see one building which looked like it had escaped the fight fairly unharmed. Pointing, he said, "That's the only building left standing. Lead the way, Williams."

Ashley readied her shotgun once again as she approached the door to the small building. "Door's locked. I'll try to get it open."

While Ashley worked at hacking the lock, John moved to the front of the structure and tried to peer between slats of the blinds covering the windows. He thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked he saw only an empty room.

"I think someone's hiding in there," John said quietly. "Get ready, I couldn't tell whether or not it was a citizen."

"Almost… there!" Ashley said excitedly. "I got the door."

"Get in there," ordered John.

Ashley hit the button and the door slid open. Moving quickly, Ashley entered the room, shotgun raised. John was close behind, ready to kill any enemies that Ashley missed. Upon seeing the two colonists in the room, the three lowered their weapons.

A human with short, red hair said, "Humans! Thank the Maker."

"Hurry, shut the door!" whispered the man who was with her. "Before they come back!"

"You're safe now," John said. "What are you doing here?"

The woman spoke. "I'm Dr. Warren, I was in charge of this excavation. We hid in the shed during the attack. They must have come for the beacon."

"Do they have it?"

"I don't think so. Luckily, it wasn't here when the attack hit. It was moved to the spaceport earlier this morning; Manuel and I stayed behind to pack up camp."

"How did you hide in time?" asked Ashley. "The attack came so quickly…"

"The marines gave their lives to save us," replied Warren. "They covered us while we hid."

"No one is saved!" whispered Manuel. "The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," John retorted. Speaking to Warren, he said, "What can you tell me about the beacon? My team was sent here to recover it."

"It's some kind of data module from a galaxy-wide communications network," Warren replied. "Old Prothean technology, remarkably well preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime!"

"It could also be used to kill us, if the geth get ahold of it."

"We better get moving then," said Kaiden.

"Williams, take us to the spaceport," John ordered. "It's time we caught up with Nihlus."

"You can't stop it," Manuel whispered to John. "Nobody can! Night is falling. The darkness of eternity."

"Then I'll go down fighting," John retorted.

"Manuel, go lie down," Warren said quietly. "You'll feel better once the medication kicks in."

As John turned to leave, he said, "Stay here and lock the door. When this is all over, someone will come and get you."

"Thank you," Warren replied. With a solemn look, she sealed the door after the three exited.

* * *

**A/N: **I had originally intended for it to be longer and I would have put the entire Eden Prime mission in one chapter, but when I read through it I decided it shouldn't be much longer than this. The rest will be in chapter 4.

Also, yes, I decided to introduce some characters from ME2 a bit early. I thought it would add a bit of a unique and interesting touch.


	6. Chapter 4: Saren

**Chapter 4: Saren**

Nihlus approached the main platform of the spaceport cautiously, looking for movement. As he climbed onto the platform, he noticed another turian no more than twenty feet away from him. Ducking into cover, Nihlus quickly confirmed that his weapon was ready to fire and peered around the corner. The turian seemed familiar, but Nihlus could not see his face from where he hid. The sun glinted off his blue armour, which was oddly designed and had tubes connecting different pieces of armour together. On the back of his neck, Nihlus could make out what looked like an implant. Calming his nerves, Nihlus stood, raised his weapon, and walked towards the turian.

Nihlus' eyes widened when he saw the turian's face, and he lowered his weapon. "Saren! What are you doing here?"

Saren turned and said, "Nihlus."

"This isn't your mission."

"The Council thought you could use some help on this one," Saren said, as he walked past Nihlus. "The geth complicated things."

"The situation's bad," Nihlus agreed. "I wasn't expecting to find the geth here."

"Oh, don't worry. I've got it under control."

Nihlus quickly turned at the sound of a weapon extending. "Saren! What-"

The roar from Saren's pistol silenced Nihlus before he could finish his sentence. A piece of metal the size of a grain of sand flew out of Saren's gun and through the air at supersonic speeds before entering Nihlus' skull. He was dead before his body hit the ground.

Taking care not to step in the blood that was now pooling around the body, Saren walked across the platform and activated the cargo train at the other end. As he accelerated away from the spaceport, Saren smiled.

* * *

"The spaceport is this way," said Ashley, pointing to the right.

John and Kaiden followed Ashley out of the research camp. As they turned the corner, Kaiden looked up at the sky and stopped moving.

"What the hell is that?" Kaiden asked.

As he glanced up, John's heart skipped a beat. In the sky was the colossal ship that he had seen from the emergency broadcast. He grabbed his sniper rifle from its holster on his back and peered through the scope.

"It's a ship!" Ashley exclaimed. "Look at the size of it!"

Red bolts of electricity danced around the ship, which complimented the red sunlight that was glancing off its hull. As John observed it, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was watching him.

"I've seen it before," said John. "In the emergency broadcast. The camera didn't give a very clear image, though, and it looks a lot bigger in person."

"If the geth fleet has a bunch of those, we're screwed," Kaiden muttered.

As the trio watched, the ship began to ascend into Eden Prime's atmosphere. Even as it disappeared amongst the clouds John could discern its location; the electricity cast a glow through the clouds it passed.

"Heads up," said Ashley. "There are still a bunch of geth units on the ground."

Frowning, John looked through the scope of his rifle at the spaceport, which was below them down an embankment. He noticed the turian body on the ground and said, "Oh shit."

"What? What is it?"

"I think I see Nihlus. He doesn't look good. We need to get down there!"

Suddenly a round flew through the air and bounced off of John's kinetic shield. "Take cover!" John yelled, as the geth units below them opened fire. Rolling to the left, he took cover behind a small boulder. He glanced sideways and noticed that Kaiden and Ashley had taken cover underneath a small footbridge.

John activated the comm-link and said, "Nihlus? Do you copy?" After hearing no response, John tried twice more to contact Nihlus, to no avail.

Grunting, John tossed a grenade over the boulder he was hiding behind. It bounced twice and then down the embankment below him. Taking advantage of the small distraction the grenade provided as it exploded, John leaned around the rock, scoped one of the geth, and pulled the trigger. As the geth returned their attention to John, he let his shields take a beating as he took out another unit before pulling himself back to safety.

John quickly looked around as Ashley screamed. She had scrambled out from beneath the footbridge and was frantically attempting to shake a husk off of her back. Before he could react, Kaiden used his biotics to pull it off her and send it flying.

"More of them coming!" Kaiden yelled towards John.

John glanced around the rock and quickly unholstered his shotgun. Just below, he counted at least six husks rushing up the embankment towards them. Suddenly, a husk that he had not noticed leapt over the boulder and knocked him to the ground. It leapt onto him, frantically trying to reach his neck. John managed to get his feet under it, and kicking hard, threw it off of him. Quickly grabbing his pistol, John put three rounds through the husk's head before it could leap onto him again. The body landed beside him, and John put another round through the husk's skull to ensure it wouldn't reawaken.

Pushing himself to his feet, John watched as Ashley dispatched the last husk with ten rounds to the chest. As it fell, the battlefield fell silent.

"Where the hell did the rest of the geth go?" asked Kaiden, glancing around warily.

John holstered his shotgun and grabbed his sniper rifle. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere. Anyone remember how many were left?"

"No more than four," Ashley replied.

Surveying the battlefield, John could make out one geth unit attempting to hide behind a building. His first shot blew off the unit's arm and sent it stumbling out of cover; the second shot blew its head apart.

"Make that three," said Kaiden, chuckling. "Nice shot, Commander."

"I can't make out any more of them," said John. "Start heading down to the spaceport. Slowly."

Ashley nodded and took point. She moved slowly, heading towards the small building to the right that the geth trooper had been trying to hide behind. Suddenly, a volley of rounds flew out from behind a small pile of crates and impacted Ashley's shields. Sprinting, John moved into the line of fire before Ashley's shields could falter. Aiming at the geth, John fired until his weapon overheated. Moving forward quickly, he reached the geth and slammed the butt of his rifle into the unit's chest area, knocking it to the ground. As his weapon cooled, John dispatched the geth with a number of rounds through its head.

"Thanks Commander," Ashley said as her shields recharged. "Couple more shots and it would have had me."

"Don't mention it."

"I'll take point," Kaiden said, looking at Ashley. He moved towards the building and banged on the door. "Anyone in there?" Hearing no response, he began to hack the door's lock.

"Take it easy!" came a voice from inside the building. "Everyone stay calm out there. We're coming out. We're unarmed."

Kaiden stepped back as the door opened. Two shady looking men and a women exited. John kept his finger on the trigger of his rifle, though he wasn't pointing it at them.

"Is it safe?" asked the women. "Are they gone?"

"I think so," John replied. "Keep your heads down, though, until we have the chance to check every corner."

"Those things were crawling all around the shed," said one of the men. "They would have found us for sure. You saved our lives."

"I- I still can't believe it," said the women, shaking her head. "When I saw the ship… I thought it was all over."

"Showed up right before the attack," said the man, nodding. "Knew it was trouble the second I saw it, so we made a break for the sheds."

John glanced up at the sky where the ship had been and then back down at the man. "Did you get a good look at the ship? What can you tell me about it?"

The man shook his head. "I was too busy running to get a good look at it. I think it landed over near the spaceport, though."

"Tell them about the noise, Cole," the woman said quietly. "That awful noise!"

"It was emitting some kind of signal as it descended. Sounded like the shriek of the damned, only it was coming from inside your own head."

"Maybe that's what cut our communications," said Ashley. "Our tech spent nearly an hour before he got the emergency broadcast out."

"Whatever it was, it felt like it was tearing right through my skull," said Cole. "Almost made it impossible to think."

John frowned. "Tell me everything you remember about the attack."

"The three of us were working the crops when the ship showed up. Like I said, we saw it and ran. I don't know what happened to the rest of the crew."

The other man spoke for the first time. "They were over near the garage. By the spaceport, right where the ship landed. No way they survived."

"You don't know that!" the woman retorted, refusing to believe that all her friends were dead. "If they made it to the garage, they could've had a fighting chance!"

"It's possible," said John. "If I see any of your friends, I'll tell them you survived. Stay in the building until someone comes to get you."

As John turned to walk away, the quiet man said, "Hey Cole, we're just farmers. These guys are soldiers. Maybe we should give them the stuff."

"Geez Blake!" Cole said angrily, turning. "You gotta learn when to shut up!"

"What stuff?" John asked, approaching Cole slowly. "Is there something you aren't telling us?"

Cole sighed. "Some guys at the spaceport were running a small smuggling ring. Nothing major. In exchange for a cut of the profits, we let them store some packages in our sheds."

"What kind of packages?" John asked, a hint of threat in his voice.

"I found a pistol. Figured it would come in handy if any more of those things showed up. But you'll probably get more use out of it than we will."

John accepted the pistol that Cole handed him and holstered it. "You sure there's nothing else you want to tell me, Cole?"

"Well… there's one more thing. I was going to sell it after this was over, but it's probably best if you have it."

As Cole handed John a weapons mod, Ashley said, "Who's your contact at the spaceport, Cole?"

"I'm no snitch," Cole said, raising his hands.

"He may have something to do with this whole attack," said John. "We need his name, Cole. It's important."

Weighing his options, Cole gave in. "Okay, okay… His name's Powell. Works at the spaceport. I don't know if he's still alive."

"Thank you. Now go inside and seal the door."

John watched as Cole, Blake, and the woman disappeared back inside the building. "Didn't think we'd be breaking up a smuggling ring on this mission."

"They're just lucky it was you that caught them," Ashley muttered.

* * *

Anderson paced back and forth in his cabin, wearing out the deck plates beneath him. It had been nearly an hour since Nihlus' last report, but Anderson reminded himself that Nihlus was a Spectre and didn't have to report to anyone if he didn't want to. Finally giving in to his legs' demands, he sat down heavily in front of the small terminal that was on his desk.

As he began typing out a report, Anderson cursed the mission for how complicated it had become. What was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission had turned into a battle with the geth, who most likely already possessed the Prothean beacon. He didn't even want to think about what the geth might do with the data they could recover from it. And that giant ship, what role did it play? If the geth had a fleet with a bunch of those...

Returning to the present, Anderson noticed the report was still blank. How could he explain this to the Alliance brass? Telling them that the geth may have the beacon was not something he was overly eager to do. Even attempting to mention the giant geth ship would have been near impossible if he didn't have the video footage to prove it.

Sighing, Anderson turned off his console. The higher-ups could wait for their report. Activating the intercom on his desk, he spoke into it. "Joker, any word from Shepard or Nihlus?"

"Nothing, Captain," came the reply. "It's as if- holy shit!"

"What is it?" Anderson asked, concern in his voice.

"That giant ship we saw on the video? It's takin' off!"

"Give me a visual!"

Anderson's console flashed to life and an image of Eden Prime was displayed. Looking closely, he saw the geth ship ascend through the atmosphere. Entering space, the ship began heading towards the system's mass relay.

"Boy, I'm glad we've got the stealth system's engaged," Joker said quietly. "A ship like that..."

Anderson grunted in response. "Get me a comm-link to Shepard. Quickly."

After a thirty second pause, Joker said, "No response."

"Damn," Anderson swore. "Keep trying. Alert me when you get through."

"Yes sir."

* * *

As John walked towards the spaceport, Joker's voice suddenly came over his comm-link. "Commander? Commander Shepard, do you copy?"

"I copy Joker," John replied. "What's the situation?"

"About time. I've been trying to raise you for half an hour."

"You see that ship take off? Maybe it was jamming communications again. I didn't receive anything on this channel until now."

"That thing was huge! I'm glad we had stealth systems enabled, or we'd- hold on Commander, patching the captain through."

"Shepard?" came Anderson's voice.

"Glad to see that you're still in one piece after that ship headed in your direction," John replied. "What's the situation?"

"I need a status report. What the hell is going on down there?"

"Jenkins is dead, shot by a couple of assault drones. Nihlus appears to be dead as well. He may have been killed by the same geth squad that ambushed us just a few minutes ago."

"Damn," Anderson swore. "Shepard, this isn't going to look good to the Council. Nihlus was supposed to be evaluating you. Now he's dead, and you lost another man under your command..."

"Hopefully they will see the truth of the situation. There was nothing I could do for either of them."

"I believe you, Shepard."

John slowly walked up the spaceport's ramp, which brought him up to the platform. "Let me get back to you. We found Nihlus' body."

Cutting the comm-link, John said, "Kaiden, scan him."

"A turian?" Ashley said, as Kaiden scanned his body. "Since when does the Alliance work with aliens?"

"Nihlus is - was - a Spectre," said John. "He was along for the ride to ensure the safety of the beacon."

Kaiden glanced at John when he failed to mention his own candidacy for the Spectres, but said nothing.

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Don't Spectres work for the Council?"

John nodded. "They can do almost whatever they want, in Council space anyway. They're the best of the best."

"So he just commandeered your captain's ship?"

"Not exactly. We were tasked with retrieving the beacon, and we didn't object to having one of the most lethal men in the galaxy on our side."

Kneeling down, John examined the wound on Nihlus' forehead. "I'm just surprised that someone or something got the drop on him. Spectres aren't known for being careless."

Studying his scan results, Kaiden said, "Point-blank range. I think he let his guard down."

"That doesn't make sense. Nihlus wouldn't just stare someone down if they pointed a gun at his face."

"Maybe he knew the guy?"

John dismissed the idea. "I don't think simply seeing someone he recognized would be enough to throw Nihlus off."

Suddenly, John heard a scuffling followed by a bang from behind a pile of crates.

"Something's moving!" Ashley shouted, grabbing her pistol. "Over behind those crates!"

A human face peered around the crates and then quickly disappeared. "Please!" shouted the man. "Don't shoot! I'm one of you!"

"Get out here," John said, lowering his weapon. As the man approached, John said, "What the hell were you doing? Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed."

"I'm sorry," the man replied. "I- I was hiding. From those things."

"From the geth?"

The man nodded. "My name's Powell. I saw what happened to the turian. The other one shot him."

"Slow down," John said patiently. "You say there were _two_ turians?"

"Yes, there were two turians here… your friend, and the one he called Saren. It sounded like they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax, like he didn't think Saren was a threat. He let his guard down, and Saren killed him. Shot him right in the face."

"How did you see all this without getting killed yourself?" Ashley asked, her suspicion rising.

"I was hiding behind the crates. I took a nap during my shift… it saved my life."

Kaiden shook his head in amazement. "Your laziness ended up saving your life. I can't believe it."

Interjecting, John said, "Where's the Prothean beacon? It was here earlier."

"Over on the other platform," Powell replied. "I think that's where Saren was headed. He hopped right on the cargo train after he killed your friend here."

"We need to get over there," said John. As he turned to leave, he added, "One more thing. I heard that you're Cole's contact for the smuggling ring."

"What? No! I mean- ugh, what does it matter now? I'm a smuggler. Who cares?"

"I care, because it's wrong."

Looking up at John, Powell said, "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Commander Shepard."

Powell cocked his head to the side as if in thought, and then said, "Alright."

"Alright?"

"I won't smuggle anymore. I'll go legal, I swear."

John didn't trust a word that came out of Powell's mouth, but said, "Good. Now get out of here, before you geth shot by the geth."

As Powell turned to leave, he said, "Take the cargo train. It's the fastest way to the other platform."

After Powell left, John said, "You were right, Kaiden. Sounds like Nihlus did know the guy that shot him. It must have been someone really unexpected."

"I don't like this," Kaiden replied. "We better stay alert."

John nodded. "Move out."

The squad moved towards the other end of the platform. Reaching it, they went down a small flight of stairs and began down a smaller path that would lead them to the cargo train.

"Crap," muttered Ashley. "Geth."

John followed her gaze and saw a number of geth troopers get off the cargo train and begin moving towards them. He readied his weapon and took cover.

"Anyone have any grenades?" John asked.

"Just one," Kaiden replied as he slid into cover beside John. He handed it to him and said, "Better make it count."

Quickly glancing over the cover, John calculated how hard to lob the grenade to have it land amongst the geth squad. After deciding that it would be best to have the grenade bounce before reaching the geth, John stood and threw the grenade in one fluid motion. It sailed through the air, hit the ground, and bounced. Rolling, the grenade stopped short. It exploded violently and destroyed only two of the geth units.

"Damn," said John. "Looks like we're going to have to take the rest of them out the old-fashioned way." Raising his rifle, he dropped another geth unit.

Following suit, Ashley and Kaiden began firing their weapons in unison. Ducking behind cover as one of the geth's grenades fell just short of his position, Kaiden yelled out to John, "We need a plan quick! At this rate, they're going to reach us before we kill half of them."

"Give me a second," John said as he grabbed his sniper rifle out of its holster. Sighting down the pathway, John noticed a fusion containment cell that was dangerously close to the geth squad. "Bingo."

John squeezed the trigger and the containment cell exploded violently, ripping through the geth's shields and destroying them instantly.

"Nice shot, Commander," said Ashley, as she stood and vaulted over her cover, which was now riddled with bullet holes.

Moving quickly, John and Kaiden followed Ashley to the end of the pathway and boarded the cargo train.

* * *

Saren approached one of the nearby geth units. "Set the charges and blow up the entire colony. Leave no evidence we were here."

The unit moved its head flaps in response and then walked away, on a mission to carry out Saren's orders. Saren watched for a moment as a number of geth units proceeded to arm four nuclear devices, taking care not to accidentally detonate any of them. Four nukes may have been overkill, but Saren was not taking any chances.

Turning his attention to the Prothean beacon, Saren slowly approached it. It had a strange green glow to it, and he couldn't wait to discover what secrets it held. It was much taller than he was, and Saren caught himself staring at the beacon's spire as he reached it, lost in thought.

Suddenly, Saren was lifted off his feet as the beacon was activated. His eyes widened as the beacon interacted directly with his brain, forcing him to hear a message. Saren could feel the power of the beacon threatening to overwhelm him, but he forced himself to stay conscious. He would not let an extinct race's communication device kill him.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the beacon's message was cut off, and Saren fell to the ground. Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Saren steadied himself against the beacon's control panel. Once sure he could support his own weight, Saren walked briskly away from the beacon and towards his ship.

In the distance, Sovereign waited for Saren's arrival.

* * *

The cargo train slowed to a stop as it reached the platform. Noticing a strange object near the boarding ramp, Kaiden frowned.

"Those look like demolition charges!" Kaiden exclaimed. "The geth must have set them."

"Hurry!" shouted Ashley. "We need to shut them down!"

Jogging over the the bomb, John activated his omni-tool and scanned it quickly. The software made hundreds of calculations in the blink of an eye, and provided John with a procedure that had the highest probability of safely disarming the bomb. Taking a deep breath, John followed the instructions and crossed his fingers.

The bomb beeped and the indicator light changed to green. John let out a sigh of relief and said, "I'm glad that worked."

"If it didn't, we wouldn't have even known before we were vaporized," Kaiden replied.

"We need to keep moving," said Ashley, withdrawing her rifle. "If there are more charges, they could go off any minute."

"We'd never escape the blast radius in time," John agreed. "Our best bet is to try to disarm them all."

Taking point, John climbed an access ramp. When he reached the top, he looked across the platform, but there were no geth to be seen. He continued cautiously, crossing a small bridge that took him to the other side of the platform. As he stepped off the bridge, John heard a beeping noise. Rounding a corner, John found another bomb.

"Cover me," John ordered, as he again followed the bomb disarming procedure. Once the indicator light turned green, he deactivated his omni-tool and said, "This one's good."

Nodding, Kaiden rounded the corner and was surprised by a volley of rounds flying towards him. As he quickly moved back behind the wall, he shouted, "Geth!"

Quickly ducking behind a crate, John waited for a lull in the attack. He heard one of the geth's weapons overheat and took his chances, taking the unit out with three carefully placed bursts from his assault rifle.

Kaiden quickly destroyed a second geth by using his biotics to throw it over the edge, while Ashley took out two more with her rifle.

The fight lasted almost twenty minutes; despite the number of geth John's squad destroyed, they continued to advance. When the last geth finally fell, John jumped into action. Without saying a word, he began sprinting across the platform. Moving his fingers as fast as he could, John disarmed the third bomb. When the indicator light turned green, John was already sprinting to the last bomb. As he reached it, he dropped to his knees and slid across the ground. Knowing he likely had seconds to spare, John disarmed the bomb faster than he thought was humanly possible. As he finished, the indicator light flickered red before changing to green, and John realized just how close it had been.

Kaiden reached the last bomb just as the indicator light flickered. Letting out a sigh of relief, he said, "That close?"

"That close," John replied.

"I don't see the beacon anywhere," said Ashley as she approached. "There's only one last place to look. The smaller cargo bay, used mainly for shuttles."

"Lead the way," said John, as he pushed himself to his feet.

Nodding, Ashley led Kaiden and John back across the platform and down a small ramp. As soon as John stepped off the ramp he saw the beacon.

"There it is," Kaiden said quietly.

John quickly scanned left and right for hostiles before approaching the beacon. Activating his comm-link, John contacted Joker. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Request immediate evac."

As John conversed with Joker, Kaiden and Ashley moved closer to the beacon, studying it.

"This is amazing!" said Kaiden. "Actual working Prothean technology."

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up," said Ashley. "Someone must have activated it."

"That's not good," Kaiden replied, frowning. "Saren might have pulled the data off of it!"

Suddenly, the beacon became active and began dragging Ashley towards it. She struggled against it, but to no avail.

"Roger Normandy. Standing by," said John.

"Commander!" shouted Kaiden.

John looked over and saw Ashley being dragged towards the beacon. Moving quickly, John sprinted over and shoved Ashley out of the way. As he did, the beacon decided to take him instead, and he felt himself being dragged towards it. It pulled him until he was within the data transfer boundaries, and then lifted him into the air.

"Shepard!" shouted Ashley, moving towards him.

"Don't touch him!" Kaiden shouted, pulling her back. "It's too dangerous!"

John's head felt like it was going to explode as the beacon crammed data into his skull. He felt captive in his own mind, unable to escape from the images that the beacon was forcing him to see. As he watched, John came to two conclusions: the beacon's message was a warning, and it was warning against death.

Finally reaching his breaking point, John tried once more to break free from the beacon's endless assault against his mind. When he realized that escape was impossible, John resigned himself to his fate.

Then everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for taking so long to get this one up! I'm just getting into final exams at school, and I've been studying for those. Anyway, I won't be writing a whole bunch until the end of June or so.

Well, I hope you're enjoying the story so far… you'll probably enjoy it more once Shepard meets Tali, though. I didn't originally plan for it to take four chapters to get Shepard to the Citadel, but I also don't want to rush anything.


	7. Chapter 5: The Citadel

**Chapter 5: The Citadel**

"We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime."

Saren glanced up, grimacing at the headache that was ringing through his skull. "And?"

"The Normandy," replied Matriarch Benezia. "A human Alliance vessel, under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony."

"And the beacon?" Saren asked menacingly, almost cutting her off.

"One of the humans… may have used it."

Saren rose from his seat before the Benezia finished her sentence. He growled, infuriated, and strode over to her. Grabbing her by the neck, he snarled, "This human must be eliminated."

"Of course," Benezia croaked, barely able to speak due to Saren's tight grip.

Saren stared at her for a moment, and then suddenly released her and walked away briskly. As soon as he had left her sight, Benezia hurried out of the room. She walked down the dimly lit corridor and entered her quarters. Sitting at her personal terminal, Benezia began typing.

The buzzing in her head droned on, clouding her thoughts and bending her will to suit its needs. She connected to the extranet and sent a message to a contact on the Citadel.

_Subject: Commander Shepard_

_I need your employer to get some information about Commander Shepard. We need to know exactly where he's going, and when. _

_Get us reliable intel and you'll get paid double what we're paying you for the quarian. _

After proof-reading the message, Benezia hit send.

* * *

John grimaced as he awoke. He rubbed his eyes, willing the headache to go away so he could think. As he sat up, he could hear Ashley saying something in the background.

"Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he's waking up."

As Chakwas walked over to John's medical station, he forced himself to sit up. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, John dropped his head into his hands. Damn this headache.

"You had us worried there, Shepard," Chakwas was saying. "How are you feeling?"

"Worse than I felt the morning after shore leave," he groaned.

"Well, I'm not surprised. You were out nearly fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

Ashley spoke from somewhere behind him. "It's my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."

"You had no way to know what would happen," John replied. "Don't blame yourself."

Unseen by John, Ashley smiled.

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off," said Chakwas. "Unfortunately, we'll probably never know. The beacon was destroyed."

"How?" John asked.

"It exploded," explained Ashley. "A system overload, maybe… the blast knocked you cold. The Lieutenant and I carried you back to the ship."

"It wasn't the explosion that knocked me out," John said, rubbing his head. "The beacon… it forced something into my head. I couldn't stand the pain, and I passed out."

"Hmm," said Chakwas, as she reviewed John's medical analysis on her omni-tool. "Physically, you're fine, but I detected some unusual brain activity. Abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

"I saw- I'm not really sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's very clear."

"A vision? I better add this to my report. It may-"

Chakwas was cut off by Anderson's entrance. As he strode across the room, he said, "Doctor, how's our XO holding up?"

"All the readings look normal," she replied. "I'd say he's going to be fine."

"Glad to hear it." Directing his attention to John, he said, "Shepard, I need to speak with you - in private."

"Aye aye, Captain," said Ashley, saluting. "I'll be in the mess if you need me." Chakwas followed Ashley out of the room.

After the door closed, Anderson said, "Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just… I don't like soldiers dying under my command."

"Jenkins wasn't your fault. You did a good job."

"I told him I'd keep him safe."

"Lieutenant Alenko told me what happened, Shepard. You couldn't have prevented it. If you or Alenko had gone ahead instead of Jenkins, then one of you would be dead."

John nodded. He was staring off into the distance, the battle replaying in his mind. "We didn't get the chance to bury him."

"I mentioned that in my report. Whoever comes to secure the colony will see to it."

After a moment of silence, John said, "Captain, why is Williams here? She isn't assigned to the Normandy."

"I figured we could use a soldier like her. She's been reassigned to the Normandy."

"She deserves it. She's a good solder."

"Alenko agrees. That's why I added her to our crew."

Sighing, Anderson began pacing slowly. "I won't lie to you Shepard. This looks bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon is destroyed, and the geth are invading. The Council is going to want answers."

"Like I said before, they'll have to see the truth in the situation. I did everything I could. That colony would be a nuclear radiation pit if I hadn't prevented it."

"I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You're a damned hero in my books. But that's not why I'm here."

"What's going on?"

"It's Saren, the other turian. Shepard, he's a Spectre. One of the best, a living legend. But if he's working with geth, that means he's gone rogue. Rogue Spectres are trouble. Saren's dangerous, and he hates humans."

"Why? Let me guess, typical alien prejudice?"

Anderson nodded. "He thinks we're moving too fast, taking over the galaxy."

"So what's his plan? Use the geth to wipe us out?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how he allied himself with the geth. The only thing I do know is that it had something to do with that beacon." Anderson stopped pacing and turned to face John. "You were there right before that beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren is after?"

"When the beacon grabbed me, it forced some kind of vision into my head. It doesn't make a lot of sense."

Anderson began pacing again. "Did anything that you saw make sense?"

"It seemed to be some kind of warning. I saw death and destruction. Synthetics, geth maybe, were slaughtering people. Butchering them."

"We need to report this to the Council, Shepard."

"What are we going to tell them? I had a bad dream? They'll laugh us off the Presidium."

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. His actions were an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon, he has an army of geth at his command, and he won't stop until humans are wiped from the galaxy."

"I'll find some way to take him down," John promised.

"It's not that easy," said Anderson, shaking his head. "He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side. If we get him stripped of his Spectre status, it will make catching him a lot easier. Hell, the Council might even send a fleet of their own after him."

"Then we prove to them that Saren has gone rogue."

Anderson nodded. "I'll contact the Ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel."

"How far out are we?"

"We've got about an hour until we dock. Go get some rest, I'll notify you when we arrive."

"Thank you, Captain," said John, as Anderson left the room.

Rubbing his head, John headed towards the bunks.

* * *

Fist's omni-tool chimed as he took another swig from his beer. Glancing at the message, he was glad to see that the assassins were just two hours out from the Citadel. He typed a quick reply instructing the assassins how to retrieve their payment, and where the hit was to take place.

He was about to deactivate his omni-tool when another message appeared in his inbox.

_From: ERR_UNKNOWN_SENDER_

_Subject: Commander Shepard_

_I need your employer to get some information about Commander Shepard. We need to know exactly where he's going, and when. _

_Get us reliable intel and we'll double what you're already getting paid for taking care of the quarian. _

Fist was surprised. Whoever these people were, they sure as hell didn't like anyone getting in their way. He typed a quick reply, mentioning that he would get information on Shepard, and hit send.

"Fist, the quarian wants to know how much longer she has to wait," came the krogan's voice over Fist's headset.

"Tell her I just received word that he's two hours out," Fist replied.

"Yes sir," the krogan said, chuckling. Even just the thought of death made him giddy.

* * *

Miranda's shuttle set down lightly on the landing platform. She had switched out of her regular Cerberus attire to avoid attracting attention, and was instead dressed in standard civilian clothing. Although Cerberus was not widely recognized by many, the Citadel was home to over thirteen million, and the chances that she would run into someone hostile towards her employer were too great to ignore.

Miranda checked her appearance one last time, grabbed the briefcase off the seat beside her, and stepped out of the shuttle. She walked past the reception desk and into the scanning chamber, watching the C-Sec guards from her peripheral vision. The turian standing at the control panel asked her the routine questions as the Citadel's systems scanned her and compared the data against the criminal databases.

"Name?" the turian asked with a yawn, clearly bored with his job.

"Miranda Lawson," she replied.

"Name sounds familiar," the guard commented, frowning. He instructed the scanning program to check the criminal databases again.

"One of my cousins shares the same name as me," Miranda lied.

The turian grunted when his console again stated that Miranda was not in the system. "What's the purpose of your visit?"

"Business," Miranda replied, tapping her briefcase. "Can we wrap this up? I've got a meeting in five minutes."

The guard decided that Miranda didn't pose a large enough threat for him to waste his time on. He finished filling out the visitor form on his console and let her pass through the security chamber.

Hurrying through the now open door, Miranda went to meet her contact.

* * *

John jolted awake. The alarm was going off on his omni-tool, indicating that the Normandy had reached the Citadel. Stretching to relieve the tight muscles that the uncomfortable beds caused, John exited the sleeping quarters and made his way to the bridge. Walking through the CIC, he was relieved that his headache had abated significantly. Perhaps the Prothean beacon had not done as much damage as he had feared.

As John entered the cockpit, Joker said, "Good timing Commander. I'm just about to dock with the Citadel."

"…Normandy, this is Alliance tower," came a voice over the comm-system. "Please proceed to dock four-twenty-two."

Joker carefully moved the Normandy into the small space that had been designated. Magnetic clamps secured themselves to the ship's hull with a resounding bang as it settled into its berthing.

"Shutting down systems… docked successfully, Commander," said Joker. "There's a shuttle waiting for you and Captain Anderson."

"Thanks Joker," John replied, as Anderson stepped into the cockpit.

"Ready Shepard?" Anderson asked.

John nodded and followed him into the airlock. Kaiden and Ashley were also present. As the decontamination sequence started, John said, "This is going to be a hard sell. We have no proof of Saren's involvement. Hell, I didn't even see him myself."

"I know. The Council doesn't exactly have a record of catering to humans, either, but we have to try."

"Williams' presence on Eden Prime will lend merit to our claims," Kaiden stated in his normally quiet voice. "The more people to back up our story, the better."

When the decontamination finished, the group exited the Normandy. A small squad of C-Sec officers was waiting for them, who were guarding the shuttle that would take them to the Council Chambers. A turian, who appeared to be the leader of the squad, stepped forward as they approached.

"Captain Anderson? Commander Shepard? Welcome to the Citadel."

Anderson shook his hand. "Thank you. Is the Council ready for us?"

"I have orders to take you to Ambassador Udina's office instead. I believe he is speaking to the Council via holo-terminal right this moment."

John and Anderson exchanged looks, and then boarded the shuttle. Only after the door closed and they were away from anyone who could hear did John speak.

"That doesn't sound very promising."

"Hmm," Anderson grunted in reply. "If the Council won't grant us an audience, we may be in trouble."

"If we tell them that one of their Spectres has gone rogue, that has to be enough to at least get their attention!" exclaimed Ashley.

"I hope so," Anderson replied quietly. "If this fails, we'll have to return to Earth to speak with the Alliance brass. They'll need to know that Saren, and by extension the geth, are coming for our colonies."

After a short while, the pitch of the shuttle's engine changed, which indicated they were descending. The shuttle touched down lightly just outside of Udina's office, and the door slid open. The four exited the shuttle and entered the spacious office. Udina was on the opposite end of the room, speaking to the three Council members.

"This is an outrage!" Udina shouted. "The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!"

"The turians don't found colonies on the edge of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador," the Salarian retorted.

Tevos, the asari councillor, nodded in agreement. "Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse."

John walked past Udina, who was still shouting, and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the inside of the Presidium ring. The lush greenery and simulated clouds overhead made it almost feel like Earth. Almost.

"What about Saren?" asked Udina. "You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!"

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador," replied Sparatus. Although he didn't directly mention it, the turian councillor had once again alluded to humanity's lack of a position on the Council.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren," Tevos continued. "We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before."

Udina glared as the holograms flickered and then disappeared entirely. Turning, he approached Anderson.

"Ah, Captain Anderson. I see you've brought half of your crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime, in case you had any questions," Anderson replied calmly. He refused to let Udina get under his skin.

"I have read the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?"

"They are. Did you convince the Council to give us an audience?"

"They're not happy about your charges, but yes. There will be a hearing which will include any of C-Sec's findings."

"My accusations are accurate," John replied coldly. "Saren's a threat to every colony out there! He has to be stopped."

"I don't disagree with you, Commander, but Saren is the Council's top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason."

Before John could retort that he didn't care what rank Saren held, Udina continued, "_And_ they don't like that Nihlus is dead! You've seriously jeopardized your candidacy for the Spectres, Shepard. The mission was a chance for you to prove yourself. You even managed to destroy the beacon!"

"That's Saren's fault, not his!" said Anderson. "Nihlus wasn't anywhere near Shepard when he got killed. Not only that, he only used the beacon accidentally."

"How do you 'accidentally' activate a Prothean beacon and allow it to pour data into your head?"

"That's not what happened," Ashley interjected. "I approached the beacon and some kind of security field was activated. The Commander threw me out of the way to save me, but was caught by the field in the process. The beacon forced the vision into his head."

"Vision?"

"The beacon burned a vision into my mind," John said quietly. "I saw synthetics - maybe the geth - slaughtering people. Butchering them by the thousands. I woke up and I could still see the image as clear as before every time I closed my eyes."

Udina frowned and then said, "Well, we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up some evidence to support your claims, because the Council is not going to arrest a Spectre based on the bad dreams of a human."

As he turned to leave, Udina said, "Come with me, Anderson. There are a few things I want discuss before the hearing. Shepard - you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. I'll make sure you have clearance."

As soon as Udina was out of earshot, Ashley said, "And that's why I hate politicians."

* * *

Benezia raised an eyebrow as she read Fist's report. According to the intel, Shepard was on the Citadel, and was attending a meeting with the Council. She had no doubts as to what they would be discussing at that meeting. Rising from her seat, Benezia exited her quarters and walked quickly down the dimly lit hallway. Arriving at the door to Saren's quarters, she took a deep breath and entered.

"Shepard is attending a meeting with the Council on the Citadel," Benezia began. "No doubt to tell them about the events on Eden Prime."

"I know," Saren spat. The Council had contacted him just moments before and asked him to defend himself at the hearing via holo-terminal.

"What would you have me do?"

Saren considered his options. Currently, the Council would readily believe his word over Shepard's, but it was probably best to take care of Shepard now. He didn't want him causing problems later on.

"Get Fist to take Shepard out. I want his best men on it."

Benezia nodded and exited the room. She hurried back to her quarters and activated the terminal on her desk. Accessing Saren's funds, she deposited payment for services as well as an extra sum into Fist's account, and then began typing a message.

_Subject: Commander Shepard_

_Payment for the intel has been deposited in your account, as well as advance payment for another task. _

_We need you to get rid of Commander Shepard. Permanently. Put your best men on it; we can't afford to make any mistakes._

Benezia pressed send, and the message was queued to be sent the next time the ship was within range of a comm-buoy.

* * *

John, Ashley, and Kaiden stepped out of the shuttle. They were on the bottom level of the Citadel Tower; at the top of a series of staircases was the Council Chambers. Climbing the first flight, John noticed two turians arguing with each other over the sound of the running water in the background, which was emanating from a large fountain.

"Saren's hiding something!" exclaimed one of the turians. "Give me some more time. Stall them."

"Stall the council?" the other turian replied. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"They didn't give me enough time to look into everything. They don't want me to find anything that will incriminate Saren. He's their top agent."

The turian who appeared to be the other's superior shook his head as he walked away. "Your investigation is over, Garrus."

Garrus stared after the other turian for a moment before turning to face John. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the C-Sec officer in charge of the investigation into Saren."

John shook Garrus' hand and said, "What did you find? The conversation you had with your superior didn't sound too promising."

"That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. He'll be presenting my findings to the Council. I didn't find anything to directly incriminate Saren, Commander, but the Council didn't give me enough time."

"Sounds like you really want to bring him down."

Garrus frowned. "I don't trust him. I have this bad feeling when he's around - something about him just rubs me the wrong way. But, he's a Spectre, and that makes everything he touches classified. With more time, I could have used several sources to get at the classified intel. But the Council was pretty careful to limit what I could find."

"Because he's their top agent."

"Right. Spectres are given enormous trust, and Saren has done nothing to indicate that he should not be trusted up until this point."

Ashley cut in. "If Spectres are given so much trust, wouldn't the Council want to make sure that they aren't abusing their power?"

Garrus shook his head. "The Council makes it clear that they don't want to know exactly what actions Spectres take. This offers them leeway, because if there is something they want done but can't announce it publicly, the Spectres provide a means for them to get it done. Saren has proven very useful to the Council, and they refuse to believe that Saren would cross them. He also has various skills that the Council finds useful."

Kaiden's omni-tool chimed, and he glanced down at it. "Commander, I think the Council is ready for us."

"Good luck, Shepard," said Garrus. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

John walked around the fountain and continued the long upward trek. After two more staircases, John finally approached Anderson who was waiting at the bottom of yet another flight of stairs.

"The hearing has already started," said Anderson. "Come on."

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern," Tevos was saying as they approached. "However, there is no evidence to indicate Saren's involvement."

Sparatus nodded. "The investigation by C-Sec turned up nothing to support your charge of treason."

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" exclaimed Udina.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador," said Valern, the Salarian Councillor. "The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof."

"I resent these accusations!" said Saren. His hologram was floating above the Council, overlooking the room. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard!" said Anderson.

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity is making false charges against me."

Glancing down at Shepard, Saren continued, "And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

John was slightly surprised. Had Saren slipped up? "The mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way you could know about the beacon was if you were there!"

Saren smirked. "With Nihlus dead, his files passed on to me. I saw the Eden Prime report, and I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a human?"

"Saren despises humanity," John said to the Council. "That's why he used the geth to attack Eden Prime! Even now he results to insulting us."

"Your species needs to learn it's place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council nor the Spectres."

"He has no right to say that!" Udina exclaimed. "It's not his decision!"

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," said Tevos.

"This meeting has no purpose, Councillor," said Saren. "The humans are wasting your time. And mine."

"There is still one outstanding issue," said Anderson. "Commander Shepard's vision. The beacon may have triggered it."

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" asked Saren. "How am I supposed to defend myself against a testimony like that?"

"I agree with Saren," said Sparatus. "Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" asked Valern, eager to dismiss Shepard's charges.

"You've made your decision," John said coldly. "I won't waste my breath." Addressing Saren he said, "You can't hide behind the Council forever. I will expose you."

Tevos and Sparatus glanced at each other and nodded. Speaking formally, Tevos said, "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad justice was served," said Saren. As his hologram disappeared, John saw a smirk play across his face.

"This meeting is adjourned," said Tevos.

John swore under his breath and followed Anderson out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: **Exams are done, and I've finished highschool! Whoohoo! I'll hopefully get a lot written this summer!

On a more sombre note, I read about the Extended Cut today, and all I could say was 'wow.' I'm quite disappointed, but then again, I didn't really expect that BioWare would fix much. Anyway, if I ever get around to writing the third story to this series, I promise I'll write a much more satisfying ending! (I'm a sucker for happy endings. :3)

It has been brought to my attention by **Albericus** that there was a plot error in the previous chapter. He wrote:

_"I'm afraid there's a bit of plot error here...Tali actually contacted the Shadow Broker, who ordered Fist to secure her, kill her and bring him the data. Turns out Fist received a better offer in the mean time, from Saren."_

In the previous chapter, I had Tali contact Fist instead of contacting the Shadow Broker directly. I've decided to leave it as is, because I like the idea that the Shadow Broker can't be contacted by just anyone.

And yes, I am aware that some (most) of you want me to hurry up and get on with the Talimance already. Don't worry, it's coming soon! However, I do have a question to ask you guys about this: I'm trying to decide whether I should stick mostly to the plot of ME1, or if I should go my own direction and write the Tali-Shepard romance starting in ME1. So far I'm leaning towards starting the romance in ME1 as I sort of want to go my own direction with this story, but I'd appreciate all of your opinions.

Lastly, thanks for reading, and sorry for the delay.


	8. Chapter 6: Acquaintances

**Chapter 6: Acquaintances**

"It was a mistake bringing you into the hearing, Captain," Udina said angrily. "You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives."

"I know Saren," said Anderson. "He's working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. All of our colonies are in danger. Even Earth isn't safe."

"Since the Council won't help us, we need to deal with Saren ourselves," said John. "There must be something we can do."

"As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable," muttered Udina. "We need to find some way to expose him."

"What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator?" asked Kaiden. "He was asking the executor for more time to finish his report. He said with some more time, he might be able to uncover evidence against Saren."

"Any idea where we could find him?" John asked Udina.

"I have a contact in Citadel Security who may be able to help us track Garrus down," Udina replied. "Name's Harkin."

"Forget it," said Anderson. "Harkin was suspended last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to. The Council could use your past history with Saren to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this."

"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation!" John said angrily.

"No, he's right Shepard," said Anderson. "I have to step aside."

"I need to take care of some business," said Udina as he turned to leave. "Captain, meet me in my office later."

After Udina had left, Anderson said, "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards."

"You want me to go talk to him?" John asked. "You made it sound like it would be a waste of time."

"Him and I don't get along, but he's probably our best chance for finding Garrus."

"I'll go find him then."

As John turned to leave, he hesitated. "Captain?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Udina made it pretty clear that you and Saren have some history. What happened?"

Anderson sighed. "About twenty years ago I was working with Saren on a mission in the Skyllian Verge. We were attempting to find and remove a known terrorist threat. Saren eliminated his target, but a lot of innocent people died along the way. Official records just covered it up."

"So you tried to tell people what happened?"

"No. I had orders to leave it alone and I did, but on that mission I learned how Saren operates. No conscience. No hesitation. He'd kill a thousand innocents to end a war without a second thought."

"Killing innocents doesn't stop wars, it causes them!"

"I know how the world works, Commander. Sometimes you're forced to make unpleasant decisions that make you feel like the villain. But only if there's no other way. Saren doesn't look for another option; he's twisted, and he likes the violence and the killing."

"How long has he been doing this? Surely someone would have spoken out by now."

Anderson shook his head. "He knows how to cover his tracks."

"Then it's time someone brought him down. I'll go find Garrus, and we'll put an end to Saren's twisted ways."

"Good luck, Shepard. I'll be over in the Ambassador's office if you need anything else."

John turned to face Kaiden and Ashley as Anderson walked away. "Let's go find Harkin."

* * *

"This will not be easy," the volus said, interrupting himself with his own heavy breathing. "You are aware of the application process?"

"Of course," Miranda replied, clearly annoyed.

"Then how do you propose you get a councillor or an ambassador to sponsor your applicants?"

"That's where you come in," said Miranda, smiling slightly. "Surely there is someone who can be blackmailed or persuaded to help us."

"The human ambassador is not an option, as humans do not hold a position on the Council. That leaves the salarian, asari, or turian councillors or their ambassadors. You would be extremely lucky to find anything they wish to keep secret."

"Then there must be some other way."

"It would be difficult, but perhaps doable..."

"Well?"

"I have some contacts that might be able to get a list of current applicants. Your operatives could steal the identities of those who are likely to be accepted. You would, of course, have to be willing to work with, uh, aliens."

Miranda frowned. Hiring aliens to work for Cerberus was plausible, but it would take time. The Illusive Man would not be pleased.

"How likely is this to work?"

"Your operatives would need to know every detail about the applicants' lives, and you would need to make the applicants disappear quietly in order for the impostors to take their places."

"Would it be possible to persuade or blackmail one of the applicants instead?"

"Again, unlikely. Most applicants have distinguished military or police service records. It would be near impossible to convince any of them to help a known terrorist organization."

"So, our best option is to impersonate the applicants?"

"Yes, yes. That would be most likely to succeed."

Sighing, Miranda handed the volus a credit chit. "Thank you for your assistance. You'll find your payment in the account accessed by that chit."

"No, thank _you_," the volus replied, smiling greedily to himself. "If you need any other assistance, you know who to ask. I will have a list of the current applicants sent to you."

As the volus turned to leave, Miranda withdrew her pistol from its holster. "Don't bother."

Aiming at the back of the volus' head, Miranda squeezed the trigger. The incinerator mod on her pistol caused the round to tear through the volus' armour and straight through his skull, killing him instantly. The report from the pistol echoed through the alleyway. Moving quickly, Miranda paused at the volus' body to retrieve the credit chit before hurrying past. Ensuring no blood had ended up on her clothing, Miranda boarded the first available shuttle.

* * *

Fist's omni-tool chimed as he walked into his office. He quickly glanced over the message, and noticing the timestamp, quickly hurried back into the corridor that lead to the bar. Two of his men looked up from their omni-tools as he approached.

"Gear up," Fist ordered. "You've got a job to do."

"What kind of job?"

Containing his anger, Fist replied, "You're going to kill a couple of Alliance soldiers. If you do it, I'll give you a nice pay raise. The target is Commander Shepard, and whoever is with him. I'm sending his picture to your omni-tools."

Pulling on their helmets, the two mercenaries hurried out of Chora's Den. No sooner had they gone through the door than John stepped out of the shuttle that had brought him to the wards. Noticing their target, Fist's men began firing.

Taking aim, Kaiden clipped one of the assassins in the arm as he dropped into cover. John quickly unholstered his assault rifle and dived into cover beside Kaiden, who was waiting for his shields to recharge. Moving slowly, John peered around the corner and across the bridge that spanned the gap to the bar's entrance. One of the assassins made the mistake of looking across at the same time, and was quickly dropped by a few rounds from John's assault rifle.

Kaiden's biotics pulled the second assassin out of cover, and the combined firepower of John and Ashley's rifles killed him within seconds.

Checking that there were no more hostiles, Kaiden approached the bodies. "There's nothing here to identify them," he announced.

"Probably Saren's men," Ashley muttered.

"I wouldn't doubt it," John agreed, holstering his rifle. "This was bold, even for Saren. If we can find some way to link him to these men, it will greatly aid our case against him."

"Saren isn't stupid," said Kaiden as they approached the entrance to bar. "We'll probably never find anything directly connecting him to anyone he sends after us."

Entering Chora's Den, John looked around for a human. Most of the bar's patrons were aliens, and it didn't take long for John to find the ex-C-Sec agent. As he approached Harkin's table, John overheard a conversation between two krogan.

"Back off Wrex," the bouncer snarled. "Fist told us to take you down if you showed up."

"What are you waiting for?" Wrex replied. "I'm standing right here. This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it."

"He's not coming out Wrex. End of story."

"This story is just beginning."

As Wrex pushed past John, he said, "Out of my way humans. I have no quarrel with you."

"What was that all about?" said Kaiden.

"Who knows," Ashley replied. "Let's just try not to get caught in the middle of it."

Glancing down at Harkin, who was sitting at the table next to him, John asked, "Are you Harkin?"

Harkin ignored John's question and said, "Alliance military. Hmph. I coulda been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddamned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life."

"I'm looking for a C-Sec officer. A turian named Garrus. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Garrus? You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. I know where Garrus is, but tell me one thing first: did the captain let you in on his big secret?"

"I just need to know where Garrus is."

"But it's all related, don't you see? The captain used to be a Spectre. Bet you didn't know that, did you?"

"Where is Garrus, Harkin?" John asked again, his anger rising.

Harkin ignored John and continued, "It was all very hush-hush. The first human ever given that honour… and then he blew it. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, Anderson blames it on Saren. Says the turian set him up."

"If all this is true, how did you hear about it? You said they covered it up."

"I spent twenty years working cases on this damn station. People love to talk. Secrets are like herpes… if you've got 'em, you might as well spread 'em around!"

"One last chance, Harkin!" John nearly shouted. "Tell me where Garrus is. Now."

"Okay, okay. Settle down! He went to speak with Dr. Michel, over in the med clinic on the other side of the wards."

Taking his hand off his pistol, John said, "I'm out of here."

"Good! Let me drink in peace."

As John walked out of the bar, Kaiden asked, "You weren't really going to pull your gun on him, were you?"

"I'm not sure what I was going to do," John replied. "I can see why Anderson didn't want to deal with him."

"Do you think what he said about Anderson was true?" Ashley asked.

"Nah, Harkin's an ass," Kaiden replied. "He's miserable, so he wants to make everyone else miserable. And even if it was, the captain would tell us if he thought it was important."

John hailed a cab and climbed in behind Ashley and Kaiden. He punched in the location of the med clinic and leaned back into his seat as the shuttle took to the air.

"I wonder what Garrus is doing at the med clinic?" Kaiden commented.

"Maybe the doctor knows something?" said Ashley. "Treated one of Saren's men or something."

"I don't know," said John. "Garrus said that every piece of evidence Saren left behind was classified. If Dr. Michel knew something, I don't think she would still be alive."

"True, Saren does know how to cover his tracks."

The shuttle pulled to a stop outside the med clinic. As John approached the door, he could hear shouting inside.

"I didn't tell anyone! I swear!" came a woman's voice.

John opened the door and took in the scene before him. Garrus crouched to his left, staying hidden and sneaking around some cover to get a better angle for a shot. In front of him, a short cabinet separated him from Dr. Michel and a thug who had his gun drawn.

"That was real smart, Doc," the thug said, grinning. He clearly enjoyed his job. "Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-"

The thug noticed John entering the room and shouted, "Who the hell are you?"

"Let her go!" John shouted, as the thug grabbed Dr. Michel and pointed his gun at her head.

Suddenly, Garrus swivelled around and stepped out of cover. Taking careful aim, he put a bullet through the thug's head before he could react. Dr. Michel screamed and jumped into cover as two more mercenaries opened fire.

John crouched behind the cabinet as rounds from the mercenaries' assault rifles flew overhead. Peering out, John noticed a compressed canister used for containing fires at the thugs' feet. He put two rounds into it before it exploded. The shrapnel from the small explosion flew into the mercenaries, and the vapour released made it impossible for either of them to see. Taking his chance, Garrus moved forward and executed both men.

As John approached, Garrus said, "Perfect timing, Shepard. You gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

"It was a nice clean shot, Garrus," John replied, "But you could have hit the doctor."

"I had to take the chance. If I hadn't, she would have been executed. Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," Dr. Michel replied. "Thanks to you. All of you."

"Why were they threatening you?" John asked. "Who do they work for?"

"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

A quarian? John had never actually seen one, except in vids, and he knew little about them, except that their weak immune systems forced them to remain in enviro-suits for the majority of their lives. The visors on quarians' suits were always opaque to provide privacy, and as a result, there were very few who knew what quarians actually looked like. They were very community-minded, and he had no idea what one would be doing on the Citadel, away from the Migrant Fleet.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, John asked, "What quarian?"

"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but wouldn't tell me who had done it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a place to hide."

"Where is she now?"

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not any more," said Garrus. "Now he's working for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?" Dr. Michel asked. "That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer."

"That quarian must have something Saren wants," said Garrus. "Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."

"She must have something that proves Saren is a traitor," said John. "Did she mention anything about Saren or the geth?"

"She did!" said Dr. Michel. "The information she was going to trade. She said it had something to do with the geth."

"She must be able to link Saren to the geth," said Garrus. "There's no way the Council can ignore this!"

"Time we paid Fist a visit," said John.

"This is your show, Shepard, but I want to take Saren down as much as you do," said Garrus, "I'm coming with you!"

"Why do you want to bring him down?" John asked. "You're a turian."

"He's a traitor and a disgrace to my people. I couldn't find the proof I needed to take him down in my own investigation, but if I come with you, I might be there to see you do it."

"Welcome aboard, Garrus," said John, shaking his hand.

"You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."

"Yeah, we saw him in the bar," said Ashley.

"He could be useful," said John. "Do you know where he is now, Garrus?"

"Last I heard, he was at the C-Sec academy," Garrus replied.

"What's he doing there?" asked Kaiden.

"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If you hurry, you can catch him at the academy before he leaves."

"Move out," John ordered.

* * *

John hurried through the wards and arrived at the C-Sec academy just as Wrex was being confronted by a group of heavily armed C-Sec officers.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar," said one of the officers. "Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you," Wrex snarled.

"This is your only warning, Wrex."

"You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

Wrex chuckled to himself, a loud, baritone rumbling. "I want you to try."

Glancing over the officer's shoulder, Wrex noticed John watching the confrontation, with Garrus, Ashley, and Kaiden standing behind him. Pushing the officer out of the way, he approached the group.

"Go on, get out of here!" the C-Sec officer shouted at Wrex as he walked away.

Ignoring the officer, Wrex asked John, "Do I know you, human?"

"My name's Shepard," John replied. "I'm going after Fist. Thought you might want to come along."

"Shepard? Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you." Stepping closer to John, Wrex continued, "We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I am going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming," said Garrus. "We'll have a better chance if we all work together."

"My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

After taking a moment to contemplate his options, John finally said, "Okay Wrex, welcome aboard."

"Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."

* * *

As the last defence turret exploded, Fist shouted, "Wait, don't kill me! I surrender!"

John stepped out from behind cover, keeping his pistol trained on Fist. "Where's the quarian?"

"She's not here. I don't know where she is. I swear."

"He's lying," Ashley muttered.

"Not good enough," said John, making a show of raising his pistol to Fist's head. "Last chance."

"The quarian isn't here. She said she would only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"Impossible," said Garrus. "The Shadow Broker only deals through his agents."

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker," said Fist, pulling himself to his feet. "Ever. Even I don't know his true identity, but she didn't know that. I told her I set up a meeting. But when she shows up, there will be a bunch of assassins waiting for her."

John stepped forward and grabbed Fist by his throat. "Give me the location. Now!"

"Here on the wards," Fist croaked. "Back alley by the markets… She's supposed to meet them… right now. If you hurry, you can still make it."

John released his grip and Fist fell to the floor. "And leave you here? Am I just supposed to forget your part in all of this?"

"I think I can take care of that," said Wrex, as he casually fired two shots from his shotgun into Fist's chest.

John spun around and shouted, "Wrex, he was unarmed!"

"I told you I would kill him," Wrex replied, shrugging.

"We don't have time for this!" said Garrus. "You heard Fist. The quarian is meeting with the assassins right now."

John nodded. "Move out!"

Rushing back through the hallways to the bar, John noticed to his dismay that another enemy squad had taken cover and was ready to engage him.

"I'll take care of this, Shepard," shouted Wrex. "Get to the quarian!"

Wrex charged at the nearest mercenary, pinning him against the wall and cracking his neck with a single hand. Using the body as a meat shield, Wrex opened fire on the other mercenaries.

"Garrus, you're with me!" shouted John. "Ashley, Kaiden, stay here and help Wrex."

Using the distraction that Wrex provided, Garrus and John managed to slip through the fighting and out of the bar. Running down the walkway, John crossed the bridge and climbed the flight of stairs to his left, which lead to the alleyway that Fist had described. He opened the door and silently approached the meeting that was taking place.

"Did you bring it?" asked the assassin, approaching Tali.

"Where's the Shadow Broker?" asked Tali, becoming suspicious. "Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here," the assassin assured her, stroking the side of her helmet. "Where's the evidence?"

"No way," said Tali, pushing the assassin away. "The deal's off."

Suddenly, two more men stepped out from behind crate and drew their weapons. Moving quickly, Tali lobbed one of her proximity mines straight at the two mercenaries and dove behind a crate for cover.

The explosion caused John to act. Both John and Garrus opened fire on the surviving assassins, killing them before they had a chance to realize they were caught in a crossfire.

Tali peered over the crate and stood up. She was slightly shorter than John, and had three fingers and toes on each hand and foot. Her enviro-suit hugged her body, and the purple patterning matched her visor. Few humans had seen a quarian in person, as the Migrant Fleet had yet to pass through the Sol system, and as such John was intrigued by her appearance.

"Fist set me up!" Tali exclaimed angrily. "I knew I couldn't trust him."

John approached her cautiously. "Were you hurt in the fight, Miss…?"

"My name is Tali. Thanks for giving me a hand with those bosh'tets. Who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard, with the Alliance military. I heard that you were in some trouble."

Tali nodded. "I recovered evidence incriminating a Council Spectre."

"Saren Arterius, right?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I'm trying to bring him down. He was responsible for the attack on one of our colonies, Eden Prime."

"In that case, I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here, we need to go somewhere safe."

"My captain and I are building a case against Saren with the human Ambassador to the Council. The Ambassador's office should be safe, and he will want to see the evidence."

Tali tilted her head sideways slightly as she attempted to gauge John's character. He stood confidently and exuded a sense of authority. Most humans that she had met had treated her with disdain, but John treated her with respect.

"Okay, I will come with you," Tali finally replied, having decided that John meant her no harm.

John activated his comm-link and said, "Ashley? Bring Kaiden and Wrex. Meet me outside Udina's office."

"Did you recover the quarian?" Ashley asked, her voice slightly distorted.

"Yes, we got here just in time. She has some data to show us."

"On our way. We just finished up here."

John terminated the comm-link. "Let's go."

"Hold on," said Tali. She walked to the end of the alley and retrieved her OSD containing the evidence against Saren from behind a pile of crates. "I didn't want anyone getting ahold of this."

"Smart," Garrus said to himself, as the unlikely trio exited the alley.

* * *

Udina had his back turned as John entered his office. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many-"

Udina noticed Tali standing beside John and cut himself off. "Who's this? A quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"

"My name is Tali," Tali said to Udina. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Tali has evidence proving that Saren is a traitor," said John.

"Really?" Udina said, raising an eyebrow. "We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I'm on my Pilgrimage," Tali replied.

"Pilgrimage?" asked John.

"It's my rite of passage into adulthood," Tali explained. "When quarians reach adulthood, we leave our birth ships to join a new crew. It is tradition to bring a gift to show that you will not be a burden on your new ship. We leave the Migrant Fleet, our home, to search the galaxy for something of worth."

"Like resources?"

"Anything that would aid the flotilla is accepted, whether that be resources or the location of a mineral rich planet."

"We shouldn't waste time," Udina said, interrupting the conversation. "While we sit here and talk, Saren could be out destroying another colony."

"You're right, I'm sorry," said John. "Tali, please tell us what you found."

"During my travels I began hearing reports of geth," Tali began. "Since they drove my people into exile, they have never ventured beyond the Perseus Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit, disabled it, and removed its memory core."

"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died," said Anderson. "Some kind of defence mechanism."

"They do," said Tali, "But my people created the geth. If you're quick, careful, and lucky, small caches of data can sometimes be recovered. Most of the core was wiped clean, but I salvaged something from its audio banks."

Tali activated her omni-tool and began typing. As the audio played, John's eyes widened. This evidence would be irrefutable.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," came Saren's voice. "The beacon brought us one step closer to fining the Conduit."

"That's Saren's voice!" Anderson exclaimed. "This proves he was involved in the attack!"

"Saren won't get out of this one," John said, anger in his voice.

"There's more," said Tali replaying the audio. "Saren wasn't working alone."

Saren's repeated his line, and then a woman's voice was heard. "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

Udina thought for a moment and then said, "I don't recognize the other voice. The one talking about Reapers."

"What the hell is a Reaper?" asked John.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty thousand years ago," said Tali. "They hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then vanished. At least, that's what the geth believe."

"Sounds a little far-fetched," said Udina.

John shook his head. "Tali's right. My vision from Eden Prime - I understand it now. It wasn't the geth I saw, it was the Reapers. They were wiping out the Protheans."

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods, as the pinnacle of non-organic life," said Tali. "And they believe Saren knows how to bring them back."

"That's how he got their allegiance," Anderson muttered.

Udina shook his head. "The Council is just going to love this!"

"They might not believe it, but we have to tell them," said John. "Even if they dismiss the Reapers as nothing but the delusions of the geth, this still proves that Saren is a traitor."

"The commander is right," Udina said to Anderson. "We need to present this to the Council right away."

"What about her? The quarian?" asked Ashley.

"My name is Tali!" exclaimed Tali.

"I'd have no objections to her joining the Normandy," said Anderson.

Tali had made her decision without even thinking about it. Something drew her to John. "You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you."

"What about your Pilgrimage?" John asked.

"That can wait. I want to see this to the end. What would it say about me if I didn't come along?"

John smiled. "Then welcome aboard, Tali."

"Thanks," Tali replied, smiling under her visor. "You won't regret this."

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council," said Udina. "Take a minute to collect yourself, and then meet us in the tower."


	9. Chapter 7: Spectre Induction

**Chapter 7: Spectre Induction**

The recording of Saren's voice rang out across the Council Chambers as John, Tali, and Garrus approached the Council. John felt relieved that they had been able to recover hard evidence against Saren. The turian was good at covering his tracks, but even the most brilliant minds make mistakes. There was no way that the Council could ignore this, no matter how useful Saren had been to them.

"This evidence is irrefutable," Sparatus admitted, shaking his head slightly. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

_About time_. If the Council had listened before, Saren might already be in custody.

"I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren," said Tevos. "Matriarch Benezia."

"Who is she?" John asked.

"Matriarchs are powerful asari who have entered the final stage of their lives. Revered for their wisdom and knowledge, they serve as guides and mentors to my people."

"I can't believe that a matriarch would willingly join Saren. The geth's allegiance can be explained by their desire for the return of their so called gods, the Reapers, but Matriarch Benezia has no reason to help him."

Tevos shrugged. "Who knows what he promised her? Regardless, Benezia is a powerful biotic, and had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

It seemed like every success was countered by a negative. Tali had provided the evidence that stripped Saren of his Spectre status, but now they had learned that Benezia's biotic followers would be aiding Saren's army of geth. What the hell drove the matriarch to serve Saren?

As the conversation drifted to the Reapers, John allowed his mind to wander. He thought of Tali, the newest addition to the Normandy. What would her role be? Her actions in the alley had shown that she could be a valuable combat asset. John made a mental note to ask her what she was best at when they had a spare moment; a balanced squad could make the difference between life and death.

John knew that discussing combat was not the only reason he wanted to talk to Tali, but he would never admit it. Her culture intrigued him. The little that he did know about the quarians only deepened his desire to know more. Few humans had met a quarian, let alone had one serve on their ship, and the extranet didn't have a lot of information about quarians, either.

John's attention was brought back to the conversation as Valern asked, "Do we even know what this Conduit is?"

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers," John replied. "That's bad enough."

"Listen to what you're saying!" said Sparatus. "Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible. It has to be."

"I don't know what his motives are, but-"

Sparatus cut John off. "Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we would have found something!"

John wanted to lash out and shout at the turian, but he contained his anger. How could he be so moronic? "I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to see the truth that was right in front of you. Don't make the same mistake twice."

"This is different," said Tevos. "You proved that Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree that he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why."

"It's obviously an elaborate lie," Valern interjected. "Saren is using it to bend the geth to his will."

"The geth aren't stupid," Tali exclaimed. After she had spoken, she clamped her hand over her helmet's mouthpiece in embarrassment. How could she have spoken to the Council in such a way?

Sparatus frowned slightly and said in a mocking tone, "Please, continue. Enlighten us all with your knowledge."

Tali was used to the constant criticism her people received for creating the geth, but she did not expect to hear it openly from a councillor. Looking Sparatus directly in the eyes, Tali forced herself to speak. "We programmed them to work together. To make a decision, every single geth in the consensus must agree. Every possible choice is analyzed a multitude of times. They would not believe the Reapers exist based on the claims of one turian; they would need a substantial amount of evidence."

John decided to add to Tali's argument before Valern could offer a retort. "Not only that, I've seen them! The image that the Prothean beacon burned into my head depicted the Protheans getting wiped out by the Reapers. If Saren finds the Conduit, we'll be next."

"Saren is on a run for his life," said Sparatus. "He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position."

"That's not good enough!" shouted Udina. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!"

While John could sympathize with Udina, he knew that yelling at the Council would get them nowhere. The only way to get the Council's assistance was to be patient and calm. Oh, how he hated politicians.

"A fleet cannot track down one man," Valern said matter-of-factly.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies."

"And risk war with the Terminus systems?" asked Sparatus. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few human colonies!"

"I can take Saren down," said John. "Send me."

"The Commander's right," said Tevos. "There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies."

"No! It's too soon!" Sparatus exclaimed. "Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

John was unsurprised by Sparatus' behaviour. The turian councillor seemed determined to keep humanity away from any sort of galactic power. In a way he was like Saren, although he did not wish anyone dead.

"You don't have to send a fleet into the Traverse, and the Ambassador gets his human Spectre. Everybody's happy," said John.

Tevos looked at Sparatus, who eventually lowered his head in defeat and nodded slightly. The three councillors activated their consoles, indicating that they were all in agreement.

"Commander Shepard, please step forward," said Tevos.

Miranda, who had only been half listening to the conversation from one of the upper balconies, suddenly stood up straight. A human Spectre? This was big news. Not only would humanity finally gain great respect in the galactic community, this human could be Cerberus' best shot at getting at the Council.

Typing quickly, Miranda sent a short message to the Illusive Man containing the news. She included John's name in the report, and requested that the Illusive Man have someone dig up intel on him so that she could plan her next course of action.

Smiling to herself, Miranda deactivated her omni-tool and headed back to her shuttle.

John stepped forward at the councillor's request. Personally he did not like the spotlight, but he was glad that humanity was finally getting what it deserved.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," Tevos continued.

"Spectres are not trained, they are chosen," said Valern. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," said Sparatus. "They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander," said Tevos. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

"I'm honoured, Councillor," said John, dipping his head in respect.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren," said Valern. "You are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"I'll find him," said John, and he meant it. He knew that until Saren was dead, the entirety of humanity was in danger, and it was his job to protect his entire species.

Tevos said, "This meeting of the Council is adjourned," and the councillors exited the room.

John turned and a grin crossed his face as he shook Anderson's hand.

"Congratulations, Commander," said Anderson, smiling in return.

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard," said Udina. "You're going to need a ship, a crew, and supplies…"

Udina's words hit John in the gut. He hadn't realized that becoming a Spectre would mean saying goodbye to the Normandy and her crew. He couldn't picture himself being anywhere else; the Normandy was his home.

"You'll get access to special equipment and training now," said Anderson, oblivious to John's internal sadness. "You should go down to the C-Sec academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer."

"Anderson, come with me," Udina ordered. "I'll need your help to set all of this up."

After Anderson and Udina had left, Tali asked, "Are you okay, Commander? You look upset." Concern was evident in her voice.

John nodded slowly. "I'm going to have trouble saying goodbye to the Normandy. It's my home."

Tali understood completely. "Each quarian goes through the same thing after their Pilgrimage. We too often find it difficult to say goodbye to our birth ships."

Looking at both Tali and Garrus, John said, "Will you two stay on the Normandy, or accompany me?"

Garrus glanced at Tali and then said, "We're coming with you, Shepard."

John was slightly relieved. Having familiar faces amongst his crew, even if he had only met them today, would make the transition easier.

"Come on," John said finally. "Let's go talk to the requisitions officer."

* * *

Tali and John stepped into the elevator that would take them to the docking bay. Garrus had decided to catch up with them, as he had to go talk to the Executor before he left the Citadel. As the elevator began its ascent, Tali glanced over at John.

"Ready?" Tali asked quietly.

"No," John replied. "But I never will be."

"When I was leaving for my Pilgrimage, I felt the same way. The Rayya was my home, I had never left its decks since I was born."

"That seems harder than what I'm going through. I wasn't born on the Normandy."

Tali nodded. "When I return to the Migrant Fleet, I will join a new ship. Before my mother died, she told me that when the time came for me to leave the Rayya, not to be sad but happy. When we join our new ship, we are starting a new chapter in our lives. We will make new friends, find a new home, and discover our purpose in life."

After a moment, Tali added, "Does that help?"

John smiled. "It does. Thanks, Tali."

The elevator doors slid open to reveal Anderson and Udina, who were talking quietly next to the Normandy. Taking a deep breath, John approached the two men.

"I've got big news for you, Shepard," Udina said as John approached. "Captain Anderson is stepping down as the commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

John was shocked, relieved, and angry all at the same time. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to leave his home after all, but angry because he was sure that Udina had played a role in convincing Anderson to step down. The Normandy was Anderson's home as much as it was his.

"She's quick and quiet and you know the crew," said Anderson. "The perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

"I want the truth," said John, glancing at Udina. "Why are you stepping down, sir?"

"You needed your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down."

"Come clean with me, Captain. You owe me that much."

Anderson sighed. "I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres."

"What happened?"

"I failed. I didn't make the cut. It's not something I'm proud of. Later, when all of this is over, I'll tell you the whole story, but for now all you need to know is that Saren made sure the Council didn't accept me. I'm giving you this chance to bring him down, Commander."

"I won't let you down, sir."

"Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him. Instead, you need to try to find the Conduit."

"Do we have any leads?"

"We had reports of geth in the Feros system before they dropped out of contact," said Udina. "And there have been sightings around Noveria."

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria, and maybe you can find the Conduit before he does," Anderson added.

John nodded. "Anything else?"

"We have one more lead," said Udina. "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans."

"Is she involved with Saren?"

"We don't know, but it might be a good idea to find her regardless. Discover what she knows. Her name is Liara. Dr. Liara T'Soni. We have reports that she might have been exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"I'll head there first. If she's working with Benezia, she may end up disappearing."

"It's your decision, Commander," said Anderson. "You're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us."

"But your actions reflect on humanity as a whole," said Udina. "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

John smirked. "I'll try not to make things any harder for you, Ambassador."

Udina ignored John's smile and said, "Good. Remember, Commander, you were a human long before you were a Spectre. Now that this is cleared up, I have a meeting to attend to."

After Udina had left, John looked Anderson in the eyes and said, "Goodbye sir."

"Goodbye son," Anderson replied, shaking his hand. "Good luck out there. If you need anything, I'll be here."

Containing his emotion, John saluted, and then lead Tali down the gangway. As they approached the Normandy's outer hatch, John said, "Welcome to the Normandy."

Tali marvelled at the ship's design. A mixture of human and turian ingenuity, It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

After the decontamination sequence had completed, Tali followed John into the cockpit. Joker swivelled his chair around upon their entrance.

"I heard what happened to Captain Anderson," said Joker. "Survives a hundred battles and then gets taken down by backroom politics."

"I know," John replied. "Anderson said it was time for him to step down, but I have a feeling that Udina played a role when he was making his decision."

"Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad on this mission, and you're next on their chopping block."

John was silent for a moment and then said, "Anderson should be the one in charge. It feels like I'm stealing the ship from him."

"Yeah, the captain got screwed, but it's not like you could have stopped it. Nobody's blaming you. We're all behind you, Commander, one hundred percent."

"Thanks, Joker."

Joker nodded. "Intercom's open. If there's anything you want to say to the crew, now's the time."

John knew he had to say something. This moment would give the entire crew their first impression of him as their new commanding officer. He decided that being honest with everyone would be the best way to secure their trust and respect.

"This is Commander Shepard speaking," John said into the intercom. "We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won't lie to you, crew. This mission isn't going to be easy. Saren knows we're coming, and he's ready for us. He poses a threat not only to humanity, but to every species out there. With the return of the Reapers, everything we know would end. Humanity needs to do this. Everyone is counting on us. Saren must be stopped… and I promise you, we will stop him!"

"Well said Commander," said Joker, as he deactivated the intercom. "The captain would be proud."

"The captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail."

"Yes sir!" Joker replied, as he started the Normandy's engines.

As John lead Tali aft, she said, "I won't let you down, Commander."

John gave her a funny look. "I know that."

Tali decided that she liked John, although she did not yet trust him fully. He had been kind to her, and was vastly different from any other human she had met.

Changing the subject, John said, "So, I've been meaning to ask you. Back on the Rayya, what was your role?"

"I was training to be a combat engineer."

"I'll take you down to engineering, then. Adams will want to meet you."

John lead Tali down the stairs to the mess deck. When he activated the elevator that would take them down to the cargo hold, he noticed that Tali looked slightly worried.

Chuckling, John said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to stick you in a dark corner somewhere."

As Tali stepped into the elevator, Joker's voice came over the intercom. "Uhh, Commander, we've got a C-Sec shuttle incoming."

"It's just Garrus," John replied. "Let him aboard and send him down to the cargo hold."

"Aye aye," said Joker.

The elevator reached the third deck and the door slid open to reveal the Normandy's spacious cargo hold. Ashley stood near the storage locker, cleaning her rifle, and Wrex stood not far from her, staring across the hold at the Mako.

"Bigger than I thought," Tali quietly admitted.

"On this ship, you'll get treated as well as everyone else."

Leading her around the corner, they walked down a hallway with a single door at the end. John provided the proper authentication, and the door slid open to reveal the Normandy's drive core.

Tali's eyes widened in amazement. "It's huge!"

Upon seeing the quarian, Chief Engineer Adams walked over. "A new recruit?"

"This is Tali," said John. "Tali, this is Chief Engineer Adams."

"Maybe I should step down," Adams joked. "She's probably a far better engineer than I am."

As Tali and Adams started speaking in the language of engineering, John quietly excused himself. He was glad that Tali had found somewhere she fit in on the Normandy.

Just as John headed out of engineering, Garrus stepped off the elevator. He looked tired.

"Got everything worked out with the Executor, Garrus?" John asked.

"He wasn't too thrilled, but I'm cleared to leave with you," Garrus replied.

"Good. Take a rest, and if you have nothing to do later, take a look at the Mako for me. The main gun has been giving us all kinds of trouble."

"Sure thing."

John radioed Joker as he rode the elevator back up to deck two. "Joker, get us to the Artemis Tau cluster. We're going to find this Dr. T'Soni."

* * *

The Illusive Man set down his cigarette as the hologram of Miranda Lawson appeared in front of him.

"Miranda," said the Illusive Man. "I got your message about Shepard. Some basic data has been sent to your omni-tool."

"Got it," Miranda replied.

"So far, he seems like our best option."

Miranda nodded. "The volus made it clear that infiltrating C-Sec would be quite a feat. Even if we managed it, a lot of time would be wasted while the operatives worked their way closer to the Council."

"But if we control Shepard, we have direct access to the Council."

"Exactly. The first step will be determining how easily he will be persuaded to help us."

"If he refuses, there are always other ways to get his assistance."

"I'll get back to you when I know more."

* * *

Powell hurried through Omega's back alleys. He heard a group of vorcha approaching, and quickly ducked behind a pile of crates. The stench of rotting meat almost made him vomit as they passed him. Omega wasn't anything like Eden Prime, but he had only himself to blame. This is what he got for trusting those other idiots.

Finally finding the right building, Powell entered it and locked the door behind him. The small living space was complete with a kitchen, a table, two chairs, and a couch. On the table was a small communicator device, which was ringing. Inserting it into his ear, Powell answered the call.

"I thought we were going to meet in person," Powell said into the mic.

"Couldn't risk it," came the reply. "I still don't know if I can trust you."

"You can trust-"

"Get the packages to my operatives on the Citadel, and then we'll talk."

Powell silently cursed the woman on the other end of the phone. "Fine. This isn't going to be easy."

"That's why I enlisted your help. Tell me what you need, and you'll have it."

Powell listed off everything he would need to smuggle the illicit cargo onto the Citadel. "And I'm going to need a bunch of people to help move all the cargo. I can't move two hundred rifles by myself."

"I'll have everything you need delivered to the apartment you're in. Stay there until everything arrives." The line went dead.

Laying on the couch, Powell comforted himself with thoughts of the large sum of money that had been deposited into his bank account.

* * *

As the Normandy dropped out of FTL, Joker announced that they had arrived in the Artemis Tau cluster. John activated his omni-tool and accessed the extranet. He searched for information on Prothean dig sites within the cluster, and discovered that the planet Therum in the Knossos system was the most likely to contain an active dig site.

"Joker, head for Therum," he said into his radio. "Garrus, please meet me in the conference room."

John stepped down from the platform overlooking the galaxy map in the CIC and headed into the conference room. He sat in one of the chairs around the edge of the room and waited for Garrus' arrival.

Within a few minutes Garrus entered. "You wanted to see me, Commander?"

John nodded. "We're going to split into two teams when we reach the planet's surface. I'll be leading one, and Kaiden will lead the support team. I've decided to bring you, as your combat experience will be greatly beneficial. Gear up."

"Yes sir. Do you mind me asking who else is coming along with us?"

"I'm still deciding. I'd like your input."

"Williams is a hell of a soldier."

"Alright Garrus, thanks. I'll meet you down at the Mako when we arrive at Therum."

"Yes sir."

John followed Garrus out of the conference room and down to the second deck. Entering his cabin, he splashed some water on his face. Despite the bags under his eyes, he knew that he couldn't sleep if he tried. The mission weighed heavily on his mind, preventing him from getting any rest, and to make matters worse, the nightmares were coming back again. Sighing, he struggled into his combat armour.

Ashley was a good soldier, but John had someone else in mind for his squad. It was unclear whether or not Liara was in league with Saren, but if she was, it was likely that a number of geth units would be waiting for them. Tali knew more about the geth than the rest of his crew combined, and her expertise would be invaluable if they engaged any geth. Kaiden's squad was only to provide support, so it made sense for Tali to accompany Garrus and himself.

Satisfied that his armour would offer some protection, John exited the captain's cabin and entered the elevator. Activating his radio, he said, "Garrus, that main gun going to be ready to fire before we arrive at Therum?"

"Affirmative," came the reply. "I'm just making some last minute calibrations."

"Glad to hear it."

When John stepped out of the elevator, he headed around the corner and into engineering. Tali was typing into her console, ensuring that all the readings were normal.

"Hey Tali," John said as he approached.

"Oh! Hi Shepard," Tali replied, turning to face him.

"How do you feel about accompanying me and Garrus to look for Liara T'Soni?"

"Wouldn't a soldier like Williams or Alenko be better suited for the mission? I don't have a lot of combat experience."

"Kaiden is leading the support team. You know more about the geth than anyone, and if Liara really is in league with Saren, you can count on a lot of geth to be waiting for us. And you're a pretty good soldier too, from what I've seen. Don't sell yourself short."

Tali smiled privately to herself at the compliment. "Then yes, I will come."

"Meet us at the Mako when we arrive at Therum. I'll have Ashley clean your shotgun before we depart."

Tali looked at John's outstretched hand, waiting for her to hand him her shotgun, and hesitated. Did she really trust this human? John had been kind enough that she had felt fairly safe boarding his ship, but now he was trying to take away her only means of protection.

John noticed her hesitation, and asked, "Something wrong?"

"N-No, not exactly…" Tali stammered. What was she supposed to tell him? That she didn't trust her captain enough to go unarmed on his ship? Keelah, what kind of situation had she gotten herself into now!

"If you feel uncomfortable about coming along, Tali, just let me know."

Tali decided to tell him the truth. "It's not that. I'm just… uncomfortable with not having any form of protection."

"You mean your shotgun?"

Tali nodded. "I'm sorry…"

Suddenly John understood. "You just met me today, Tali. You have nothing to be sorry about. I should not have expected your trust."

Tali began talking very quickly, embarrassed for admitting her lack of trust. "No, I do trust you. Well, I mean… It's just that, on the flotilla, we don't… Quarians are different from humans-"

"Slow down," John interrupted, chuckling. "I'll let you take your shotgun to Ashley. You can even clean it yourself, if you'd prefer."

"Thank you," Tali said sincerely.

As John turned to leave, Tali said, "Commander?"

"Yes?"

"I'll work on it. The trust thing."

"Trust comes with time. Don't rush it."

Exiting engineering, John mentally prepared for battle.

* * *

**A/N: **Well! I received a great review from IrationalFear, who reminded me that just repeating the game's dialogue was boring. In this chapter, I tried to make it more 'my story', and I'll try to continue to writing in this way.

If you find any typos, please let me know by PM so that I can fix them. When proof reading my own writing, I tend to miss some of the smaller mistakes.

Thanks again for reading!

**Update July 8, 2012: **Based on Albericus' review, I've made some changes to the story. I admit, Tali's trust in Shepard was a bit far fetched, and so I've changed it so it's more plausible. I've also decided to send two teams to Therum's surface.

As I said in a PM to Albericus, please don't feel bad about leaving critical reviews. When I decided to start posting this story online I knew that I'd be getting quite a bit of criticism, and that's a good thing. Without these reviews, this story would be in a much sadder state than it is now. Reviews that point out what I've done wrong help me become a better writer, which makes the story more enjoyable for everyone.

Well, that's about it. Chapter 8 should be up within a couple days. See you then!


	10. Chapter 8: Therum

**Chapter 8: Therum**

John and Kaiden stepped into the Normandy's elevator as the ship approached the planet Therum. Both were fully suited for battle.

"You, Ashley, and Wrex will form the secondary team," John said as the elevator descended towards the cargo hold. "I'm taking Garrus and Tali."

"It's going to be a tight fit in the Mako," Kaiden commented.

"Wrex might have to sit on someone's lap."

"Yeah. We'll have to use all the medigel before we even get onto the planet's surface."

Both men laughed as they stepped out of the elevator. Despite the joking, they both were equally nervous about the mission ahead. If Liara was working for Saren like her mother, there would likely be a large battle ahead.

As John approached the Mako, Garrus said, "The gun should be fully operational now."

"Good," John replied. "Let's hope we don't have to use it."

"Then what did I do all this work for?" Garrus asked, feigning indignation.

"Look at it this way, Garrus," said Kaiden. "If you don't want to fix the gun next time, I hope you can take out a thresher maw with your rifle."

Suddenly, Joker's voice came over everyone's radio. "We're five minutes out from Therum."

"That's our cue," said John. "Let's get everything loaded up into the Mako."

Kaiden activated his radio and said, "Joker, how many hours of sunlight do we have left?"

"Six or so, but there's a nasty storm brewing that's due in four," Joker replied. "You probably want to finish up before then."

"Let's hope resistance is light," said Garrus, as he tossed a duffel bag full of medigel into the Mako.

"Everybody get aboard," said John. "Garrus, you're on the gun."

As Ashley approached the Mako and boarded, John looked around for Tali, who was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was about to go look for her, she exited engineering and hurried towards the Mako.

"Ready, Tali?" John asked.

Tali hesitated and then nodded. She was nervous, but knew that she had to learn to trust John and his crew if she were to stay aboard the Normandy. This mission was the perfect opportunity for her to get to know her captain better. Climbing aboard the Mako, she sat next to Garrus and strapped herself in.

"And we've arrived," came Joker's voice. "Entering the atmosphere now."

Making the final checks, John climbed into the Mako and pulled the hatch shut. He moved to the front and sat in the driver's seat.

"Engines are running smoothly," said Kaiden, who was sitting in the passenger seat. "Everything's ready to go."

Radioing Joker, John said, "We're ready down here, Joker."

"Copy," Joker replied. "Opening the bay doors."

An alarm was activated, and the Normandy's VI said, "Warning! Cargo bay doors opening. All personnel vacate the cargo hold."

The cargo bay doors slowly opened to reveal a rocky planet surface with large rivers of bubbling magma. John disengaged the Mako's parking break and slowly approached the bay doors.

"Everyone hang on," said John, as he strapped himself into his seat. "This is going to get a little bumpy."

Hitting the accelerator, John drove the Mako out of the Normandy. It soared through the air and began approaching the ground at an unsurvivable speed.

"Give me thrusters," John instructed Kaiden.

Thrusters on the bottom of the Mako suddenly fired and began slowing the Mako's descent ever so slightly. As the Mako got closer to the ground, Kaiden increased the power output to the thrusters in an attempt to slow it down to a speed that wouldn't break anyone's bones on impact.

The Mako slammed against the ground hard, and Wrex nearly landed on Ashley's lap, despite the many straps connecting him to his seat. Bouncing twice, the Mako came to rest in a cloud of dust. As the dust began to settle, John and Kaiden checked the Mako's systems for any signs of damage.

"The right rear wheel might have taken a bit more of the impact than it should have," Kaiden reported. "Other than that, perfect landing, Commander."

Tali slowly undid the straps that tied her to the Mako. She had been wondering how they would get the Mako onto the ground without landing the Normandy, and now she had her answer.

John glanced into the back of the Mako and asked, "Everyone all right?"

"Yeah, we're good," Garrus replied. "Wrex almost landed on Ashley's lap, though."

John grinned. "I don't think I've ever done that with this many people inside."

As the Mako pulled away from the drop zone, John contacted the Normandy. "We're all good down here, Joker. See you in a few hours."

* * *

Powell supervised as ten Cerberus operatives hauled small crates used for shipping into the apartment. They were all dressed in the uniform of a dummy shipping corporation which was owned by Cerberus; Powell was making the final preparations for a test run. Despite the sophisticated security employed by Citadel Security, Powell was confident that he could beat it.

Once all the crates had been stacked around the edges of the small room, Powell called everyone over.

"Listen up!" Powell shouted. "If you all listen to my instructions, we shouldn't have any problems."

Powell grabbed three differently marked crates and pulled them over. "The crates marked with red contain the weapons we're smuggling. The ones marked blue and yellow are full of legitimate stuff that we'll be sneaking the weapons in with."

"What about the scanners?" asked one of the men. "They'll see the weapons packed in beside the other stuff right away."

"No they won't, because the weapons aren't going to be in one piece. Each weapon needs to be disassembled and the parts will be packed in with the other stuff. We've got medigel dispensers, tool kits, and other crap to hide the parts with. Each weapon part needs to be colour coded so the weapons can be quickly assembled once we're on the Citadel. Make an assembly line and get twenty rifles ready to go. We leave for the Citadel in two hours."

As the men got to work, Powell made a phone call. When Miranda picked up, he said, "Everything should be ready to go in a couple hours, as you asked."

"Good," Miranda replied. "I'll have a transport sent to your apartment to take the crates to a private docking bay."

"Once we arrive on the Citadel, where do you want me to bring the weapons?"

"Contact me when you arrive. I'll have further instructions."

Powell terminated the connection and sat on the couch. Watching the other men work, he smirked at how good his life had become.

* * *

Another geth armature fell as a round from the Mako's cannon impacted it. Garrus, who was manning the gun, was attempting to clear the area of geth so that Kaiden's team could exit the Mako safely.

"To your left, Garrus," John announced, as another geth destroyer began firing.

Garrus swivelled the cannon around a blew the destroyer apart before it could even try to get out of the way.

Kaiden checked the radar and said, "That looks like the last of them."

"Good, let's go," said Wrex, who was eager to get out of the cramped space. "I can hardly feel my legs."

Everyone pulled on their helmets to shield themselves from the planet's heat, and Kaiden pushed open the Mako's door. Tali exited first to provide cover for Kaiden's team as they exited the vehicle.

"It looks good out here, Commander," Kaiden radioed. "No sign of anything moving."

"Find some cover from the sun and be ready," John replied. "If we need support, I'll contact you."

Tali climbed back inside the Mako and pulled the door shut as Kaiden's team disappeared over a hill. Holstering her shotgun, she sat back down in her seat.

Once the Mako reported that the internal environment was safe again, John removed his breather helmet and put the Mako into gear. As he pulled away, he said, "Tali, could you come up here please? I need someone riding shotgun."

Tali approached the front of the vehicle and sat in the passenger's seat. The instrument panels in front of her were a somewhat familiar sight, except that she could not read them.

"I can't read these," said Tali.

"Just watch the radar for me," said John. "If you see anything, call it out so Garrus can shoot it."

Tali nodded and said, "Looks like a lot of movement up ahead."

Garrus, who was controlling the Mako's gun from the back, cracked his neck. "I'm ready."

John cursed and slammed on the brakes. Just ahead, a boulder blocked the Mako's path. "We're not going anywhere."

Undoing the safety restraints, John climbed out of the driver's seat and into the back of the Mako. Pulling his breather helmet back over his head, he opened the door. As he stepped out onto the planet's surface, he could feel the sun's scorching heat even through his armour.

Following John, Tali and Garrus slowly made their way up the path that had been too small for the Mako. Steep cliffs bordered the path; there was no way for them to bring the Mako around.

"Movement," warned Garrus.

"What is it?" asked John, dropping into cover.

"More geth," Garrus muttered, as he looked through the scope on his rifle.

"Take 'em out."

Garrus pulled the trigger. The lone unit fell, but was quickly replaced by many more geth that had been hiding behind boulders that littered the small clearing. John and Tali rushed forward in an attempt to catch some of the geth off guard, diving from boulder to boulder, while Garrus provided support from afar.

Twice Tali's shields dropped, but John and Garrus were there to cover her. The team was in sync, working together in perfect harmony. Although the geth were efficient soldiers, they didn't stand a chance.

"I think that's the last of them," said Tali, as she fired a shot into the last visible geth unit.

"I can see some structures in the distance," Garrus said over the radio. "If I'm reading this map right, that should be the entrance to the dig site."

"See any more geth?"

"No, but that doesn't mean anything. They're good at hiding."

"All right," said John. "Regroup."

Garrus holstered his sniper rifle and walked towards the middle of the small clearing. As he approached John and Tali, he said, "We have to hurry if we want to beat the storm."

"If we don't run into much more resistance, we should make it," said Tali. "We have a few hours of daylight left."

"Let's get going then," said John. Stretching, he unholstered his rifle and started walking to the other side of the clearing.

After a tiring climb up a steep incline, the team finally arrived at the entrance to the underground dig site. The buildings were eerily devoid of life, causing John to feel uneasy.

"Something is wrong here," said Garrus.

As Tali rounded a corner, the sight in front of her caused her to feel sick. A pile of bodies occupied the alleyway, haphazardly stacked higher than she was tall.

Stumbling backwards, Tali said,"Keelah…"

John heard the tone in Tali's voice and rushed over. "Tali, what is it? What's wrong?"

Following Tali's gaze, John entered the alleyway. His first reaction was one of revulsion, and then immense sadness. Someone, presumably the geth, had slaughtered these people for no other reason than to get them out of the way. Aside from the occasional soldier, the people were doctors, scientists, and archaeologists… civilians.

"Garrus, come take a look at this," John said over the mic.

"What is it, Shepard?" Garrus asked as he strode into the alleyway. Looking at the bodies, he said, "Damn him. Saren's going to pay for this."

"If Saren succeeds, this is going to look like nothing," John said sadly.

"Do you really believe that Reaper story?"

John nodded. "I do. But even if the Reapers are a myth, Saren and the geth will kill hundreds more on their own."

"We'll stop him, Shepard."

Suddenly, a thunderous crash reverberated across the dig site. Tali's eyes widened in horror, and activating her mic she shouted, "Drop ship!"

The geth drop ship unloaded two armature class units and a squad of foot soldiers. As the armatures began to activate and stand, Tali rushed back into the cover of the alley.

"How many?" John asked.

"Two armature class units, and a squad of standard units," Tali replied quickly. "I think they might also have something else that's jamming my radar."

John activated his radio and shouted, "Kaiden! We need you down here, now!"

"We saw the drop ship," came Kaiden's reply. His voice was muffled; the storm was ahead of schedule and was beginning to interfere with communications. "We'll be there in thirty seconds."

"If you can find another path, bring the Mako. There are two armatures here."

Kaiden was silent for a moment as the seriousness of the situation set in. "Will do, Commander. How are you holding up over there?"

"Not too bad," John replied, as he peered around the corner and fired at one of the geth soldiers. "I have a bad feeling about this, though."

"Why? Did something happen?"

"They don't seem too worried about killing us. It seems like they are perfectly content with keeping us pinned down. I think they just want us away from the underground entrance. It's not like the geth."

"Shepard's right," said Tali. "It's not like the geth to be inefficient. Someone is giving them orders, and whoever that is, they want us to stay out of the dig site."

"Whatever is going on, we better hurry," said Kaiden. "Keep your heads down, we're coming in."

Suddenly the Mako sped up the hill, getting a small amount of air as the cannon repeatedly fired at the armature units.

"Keep the soldiers off them!" John ordered, as he began firing at a geth hopper that was slinking along the ground towards the Mako.

Tali and Garrus joined in, doing their best to keep the Mako from receiving too much damage as it dealt with the armatures.

The first armature fell, and the geth became frantic as they sensed that their defensive was failing. The Mako was pushing forward slowly but steadily, causing heavy damage to the last standing armature. Just as the Mako's shields were about to falter, the cannon fired a shot into the last standing armature, blowing it apart.

"That's all of them," came Kaiden's voice.

John lowered his rifle and exited the alley. As Ashley stepped out of the Mako's hatch, he asked, "How did you manage to get the Mako up here?"

"Wrex pushed it up and over," Ashley replied. "Good thing we decided to bring him along."

John nodded. "If this was any indication, we'll probably be running into a lot more geth down below. I need you to stay here with Kaiden and Wrex, and hold this location. If we can get out before the storm hits, this is going to be Joker's LZ."

"No problem Shepard," said Wrex as he unholstered his shotgun. "I'm just getting warmed up."

* * *

Powell supervised as the crates were loaded onto the small freighter ship; everything had to be just right. This operation was his chance to work his way further into the smuggling business. He didn't even know which company was paying him to smuggle the weapons onto the Citadel, but he didn't care. They were paying him, and that's all that mattered.

"Okay!" Powell shouted as he boarded the ship. "Everybody aboard."

The Cerberus operatives climbed onto the freighter, and one of them took the pilot's seat. Powell sat in the back with the rest of the men, and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the ship to depart.

"Here we go," said the pilot, as the magnetic clamps imprisoning the ship were released.

As the ship departed from Omega, Powell settled into his seat and prepared for the long trip.

* * *

John warily walked down the mineshaft, followed closely by Tali and Garrus. The cramped space could easily become a deathtrap if the geth attacked, and John was eager to exit into somewhere with more room to maneuver. Stepping out of the entrance tunnel, John exited onto a platform that overlooked a large cavern below.

"Over ten of them," John whispered to Garrus and Tali as they approached.

Suddenly, a round impacted John's shields near his helmet. If his shields would have been disabled, it would have been a perfect kill shot.

"Back!" Garrus shouted, pushing Tali and John back away from the platform's railing."Geth sniper."

Tali cursed quietly to herself. "The snipers are deadly accurate. I don't know if we'll be able to take him out."

"All I need is a distraction, I saw its location," said Garrus. "Any volunteers?"

Approaching the guard rail, John withdrew a grenade and activated it. Throwing it down into the cavern below, John watched it bounce twice and then explode. The explosion shook the cavern and instantly got the geth's attention.

Seeing his chance, Garrus brought the scope of his rifle to his eye and squeezed the trigger in one fluid motion. The geth sniper fell from its perch and landed on its comrades below, causing even more confusion.

"Now's our chance," said Garrus, quickly leading the way down along the access ramp.

Shooting as they ran, the squad took out another two geth as they hurried along the metal walkways that traversed the cavern. Reaching the elevator, John's assault rifle brought down another unit that was trying to rip out the cabling that powered the elevator car.

The sounds of battle stopped as the unit fell and John stepped over it into the elevator. Pushing the button, he said, "Think the rest are hiding?"

Tali nodded as she stepped aboard the elevator car. "Probably preparing an ambush."

As the elevator reached the lower level of walkways, John suddenly lunged forward through the now open doors. Tali looked up in surprise and saw a geth carrying a rocket launcher. Wrestling the unit to the ground, John managed to pry the weapon from its hands. After John had rolled out of the way, Tali destroyed the geth soldier with two shots from her shotgun.

Garrus offered his hand and pulled John to his feet. "Nice save, Shepard."

Continuing across the network of walkways, they quickly reached another elevator which would take them the rest of the way down. Sparks flew from cables that had been torn loose from the elevator car.

"Looks like the geth don't want us anywhere near the bottom," said John.

Tali activated her omni-tool and scanned the elevator's control panel. "These disconnected cables power the elevator, but if we override the emergency brake we should be able to get down."

"But coming back up would be a different story?"

"Yes, we will have to find another way out."

"Well, we don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"We need to get down there," Garrus agreed. "Once we clear out the geth, though, we could get Alenko to come pull us back up the elevator shaft."

John considered his options. Dr. T'Soni could be down below, and regardless of whether or not she was working for Saren, she could likely provide them with useful information. There didn't seem to be any other way of accessing the bottom of the cavern, and it would take too much time to return to the Mako to get the necessary gear to rappel down. Finally, John said, "Okay, let's do it."

John, Garrus, and Tali apprehensively stepped onto the elevator car. After receiving confirmation, Tali hacked into the elevator's control systems and released the emergency brake. The car shuddered and then suddenly dropped, plummeting towards the bottom of the elevator shaft. Typing frantically, Tali managed to reengage the brake and slow the car to a halt just as they reached the bottom.

Letting out a sigh of relief, John stepped off the elevator and climbed down a pile of rubble. "Good work, Tali."

As John waited for Tali and Garrus to get off the elevator, he noticed a field of some kind that was barring access to a large doorway that was built into the cave's wall. Looking through it, he was surprised to see an asari women who appeared to be imprisoned. She was levitating, supported by some kind of security field.

"Tali, Garrus, get down here," John said, never taking his eyes off of the woman.

Hearing John's voice, Garrus slid down the rubble pile and hurried over. "An asari?"

"Dr. T'Soni, perhaps?"

"Uhh, hello?" said the asari. "Can someone help me? Please?"

John holstered his weapon as he approached. The woman was young, and wearing some kind of uniform. Although John had put away his weapons as to not alarm her, he did not yet know who she was or whose side she was on, and was counting on Garrus and Tali to keep their weapons trained.

"Can you hear me out there?" the asari asked. "I am trapped. I need help!"

"Are you Doctor T'Soni?"

"Yes, my name is Liara T'Soni. Listen, this thing is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so you need to get me out of it, all right?"

John crossed his arms. "Are you working for Saren?"

"Saren? Who's that?"

"He's the turian who is trying to destroy all of humanity. So let me ask you again: are you working with Saren and your mother?"

A look of genuine surprise flitted across Liara's features. "My mother? What does Benezia have to do with any of this?"

Garrus glanced at John and said, "I think she's telling the truth."

"Okay," said John. "We'll get you out. How did you get in there, anyway?"

"Thank you," Liara replied. "I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up. Can you believe that? Geth beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defences to keep them out, but I must have pressed something I shouldn't have, and this security field activated."

"Saren is using the geth as his personal army to attack human colonies," said Tali, who had approached the doorway when the topic of conversation changed to the geth. "That is why they have ventured beyond the Veil."

"Why would they follow him?"

Glancing at John, Tali said, "It's a long story."

"We'll get you out of there," said John. "Just hold on."

"There is a control panel in here that will disable the barrier curtain, but I can't reach it," said Liara. "You will have to find some way to get around."

"Is there no way to disable the tower's defences from the outside?"

Liara shook her head. "It was designed for security. There is no way to disable the barrier curtains or the security fields from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."

"We'll find a way."

"Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get in."

Stepping away from the barrier, John glanced across the cavern. As he looked, he noticed geth hiding themselves amongst the mining equipment that littered the cavern floor.

Activating his radio, John said, "Kaiden, do you copy? What is the status on the storm?"

Hearing no response, John repeated his message. "Kaiden, do you copy?"

"The storm may have already hit," said Garrus. "It was coming in fast."

John shook his head. "Not that fast. They may be in trouble."

"They can handle themselves. They have to. If we don't stay here and get Dr. T'Soni out, the geth will get to her."

"I know. Move out."

* * *

Wrex laughed loudly as he fired his shotgun again and again out the hatch of the Mako. Ashley manned the cannon while Kaiden drove, attempting to keep the Mako behind cover to minimize the damage inflicted by the geth drop ship. Kaiden knew that if they could just hold out a while longer, the storm would hit and the drop ship would be forced to leave or would crash into the dig site.

Suddenly, John's voice came over the Mako's radio. "Kaiden, do you copy? What is the status on the storm?"

Kaiden glanced at the sky. It wouldn't be long now; the colossal thunderheads loomed not far away. Activating the mic in his helmet, Kaiden said, "Storm's almost here, Commander. I'd give it an hour tops."

John repeated his previous statement. "Kaiden, do you copy?"

Cursing, Kaiden swerved to avoid an incoming missile. Either the Mako's transmitter was broken, or the geth were interfering with outgoing communications. Either way, John could not hear him. Glancing at the sky once more, Kaiden willed John to hurry.

* * *

"Duck!" shouted Garrus, as a geth unit grabbed John's rifle and ripped it from his hands.

John obeyed, and quickly dropped into a crouch as Garrus' shot passed over his head. The round flew straight into the unit's head, the force ripping it off the body. As the light on the geth's head dimmed, John quickly retrieved his rifle.

"Two more," Tali said over her radio, as she fired a shot and ducked behind a boulder.

"Got one," said Garrus, as he fired another shot from the platform above.

The remaining geth unit detected its fallen comrade and changed its strategy. Moving through the shadows, the unit circled around in an attempt to get behind Tali.

As the geth came up behind her, John shouted, "Tali, watch out!"

Spinning around, Tali ducked the geth's first shot and allowed her shields to absorb the rest. The first shot from her shotgun knocked the geth off its feet, and the second shot passed through the unit's armour and destroyed vital components contained behind the armoured chest plate.

Scanning the cavern, John said, "I think that's the last of them."

Tali stood slowly and followed John and Garrus across the cavern. As she walked, she pondered the events of the mission so far. She had nearly been killed multiple times in the past few hours, but her… squadmates had saved her. What was the word she was looking for? _Friends?_

Stopping in the middle of the cave, Tali tilted her head to the side as she looked at John and Garrus. A human and a turian, her first friends outside of the flotilla? She was afraid to label them as such. They were soldiers, and of races other than her own. She would not trust them with her life, yet she realized that she enjoyed their company. Both men treated her with respect, and although Garrus pretended otherwise, she could tell that he didn't mind her company, either. With time, Tali hoped that she would feel comfortable calling both her friends.

Continuing across the cavern, Tali approached the two men, who were discussing how to gain access to the tower that imprisoned Liara.

"The mining laser might just do it," Garrus was saying, "But I'm worried that it might hurt the doctor if it's too powerful."

Looking at Tali, John said, "Tali, do you think you could turn down the power on that thing?"

Tali activated her omni-tool and scanned the mining laser's control panel. "I think so. It's got some sort of basic security code on it… there. Yes, I can turn it down."

"Set it to thirty percent. Can you target it?"

"No, but it's already set up to target the base of the tower. Looks like the geth might have been preparing to do this."

John was glad they had arrived when they did. The geth would surely have killed Liara if they had gained access to the chamber she was imprisoned in, and although they had learned that Liara didn't have any information about Saren to provide them, he was glad that they would be able to save an innocent life.

"Okay," John said finally. "Do it."

Tali typed quickly and activated the laser. The intense beam fired at the base of the tower and blasted away at the rock, carving a hole through it. As the rock was cleared away by the laser, the entire cavern rumbled.

"That should do it!" Garrus shouted.

The rumbling ceased as Tali deactivated the laser. As the dust cleared, a hole bored through the rock became visible.

"They know we're through now, if they had any doubts before," said John.

Garrus glanced around warily. "I wonder where that krogan is lurking."

"Good question. We had better get her out of there."

Hurrying through the hole, they boarded an elevator and rode it up a level. As John entered the room where Liara was imprisoned, she said, "Oh! How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier."

"We blasted through the bottom level with the mining laser," John replied. "How do I get you down from there?"

"That button over there on the console should deactivate the containment field."

On John's signal, Tali pressed the button and Liara fell to the floor. As she stood, Liara said, "Thank you."

John checked his omni-tool and frowned. "We have to go now. The storm should be hitting any minute."

"Storm?"

"There was a huge storm not too far off when we landed," said Garrus. "If we don't get back aboard the Normandy before it hits, we'll be stuck down here until it passes. With the amount of geth we've seen so far, I don't think that's a very good idea."

"There is an elevator back in the centre of the tower that should take us out of here."

As John, Garrus, and Tali followed Liara towards the elevator, she said, "I still can't believe this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"The geth are looking for the Conduit," said John. "And you're an expert on the Protheans."

"The conduit? But I-"

Liara was cut off by a deep rumbling that came from somewhere overhead.

"What the hell was that?" asked Garrus.

"These ruins aren't stable. The mining laser could have triggered a seismic event. If we don't hurry, the whole place could cave in!"

As the elevator started its ascent, John activated his comm-link to the Mako. "Kaiden, do you copy?"

"Commander, can you hear me?" came the distorted reply.

"I hear you."

"That's a relief! I tried to answer you last time you called, but my response wasn't getting through."

"It's okay, we got everything sorted out down here. What's your status?"

"We just finished shaking a geth drop ship. They really don't want us getting off this rock."

"Is it gone? How did you shake it?"

"The storm is very close. They must have decided we weren't worth the loss of a ship."

"How long do we have?"

"Five, ten minutes tops."

"Contact the Normandy, and get Joker to come to the LZ. We're on our way up."

"Yes, sir!"

John terminated the connection just as the elevator slowed to a stop. It had raised them into a large room, with only one visible exit. Just as John started heading towards the doorway, a krogan entered the room, followed by a squad of geth.

"Surrender!" shouted the krogan. "Or don't. That would be more fun."

"In case you didn't notice, this whole place is falling apart," said John.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?"

"Commander, we need to get out of here right now!" Tali whispered quietly.

"Thanks for getting rid of those energy shields for us," the krogan continued. "Hand the doctor over."

"Not a chance," said John, as he and Tali took up defensive stances in front of Liara.

"Saren wants her, and he always gets what he wants. Last chance. Hand her over, and I'll make your deaths painless."

Glancing at Garrus, John said quietly, "Any ideas?"

"Not really," Garrus replied grimly. "This doesn't look good."

"I'll hold the krogan with my biotics while you take care of the geth," said Liara. "I will try my best, but I don't know how long I can hold him."

"Okay, do it," said John. "We'll take out the geth as fast as we can."

Addressing the krogan, John said, "Thanks, but she'll stay with us."

The krogan grunted in annoyance and addressed the geth following him. "Kill them. Spare the asari if you-"

Before the krogan could finish his sentence, Liara had grabbed him with her biotics and thrown him to the floor. John jumped into action, diving sideways out of the line of fire. Moving around the edge of the room, John flanked the geth while Tali and Garrus defended Liara.

John took out many of the geth on his own, but would have been overwhelmed if not for Tali's skill at hacking. Her cyber attacks disrupted the geth's coordination, and provided John the opportunities he needed to kill the remaining units.

Suddenly the krogan broke free from the hold of Liara's biotics. He snarled at Liara, infuriated. John, Tali, and Garrus all opened fire at once, quickly cutting through the krogan's armour and bringing him down. As he lay on the ground panting, John walked towards him and finished him off with three shots to the head.

Garrus and Tali pulled Liara to her feet as John rushed towards the exit. He covered his head with his hands as rocks and other debris fell from the cavern's ceiling above. Leading the way, John ran down the walkway towards the mineshaft that would take them to the surface.

As the cavern began collapsing more rapidly around them, John shouted, "Move!" and pushed the others ahead of him. As he ran up the mineshaft, he heard the cavern collapse behind him. Just ahead, he saw Garrus, Liara, and Tali reach the exit. Whatever happened next, he was happy that they were safe.

Just as John was losing hope that he would make it, he passed through the doors to the mineshaft. Panting, John followed Garrus towards the Mako, which was parked at the bottom of the ramp that lead to the mineshaft's entrance. Looking towards the sky, John realized that the storm was right on top of them.

"Kaiden!" John shouted as he climbed into the Mako. "Where's the Normandy?"

"We have to drive out to her," Kaiden replied as John pulled the Mako's hatch shut. "The winds were too strong."

Putting the Mako into gear, Kaiden drove as fast as he dared towards the Normandy.

* * *

**A/N: **If you haven't already noticed, I updated the previous chapter to fix some issues. Go take a look. :)

Sorry I took so long to get this one up. I've been dealing with some stuff, and its taken up most of my time recently. Hopefully now I will be able to get back on track. See you in a few days (I hope)!


	11. Chapter 9: Escape

**Chapter 9: Escape**

Saren slammed his fist against the arm of his chair in frustration. The geth unit standing next to him did not flinch at the outburst.

Saren snarled a question through clenched teeth. "They killed the krogan?"

"Yes," replied the geth. "In addition, nearly all geth platforms were destroyed. Only one survived the assault, which reported to the consensus."

Frowning in frustration, Saren thought over his plans. He could no longer rely on Dr. T'Soni to provide him with the information he needed. Without her knowledge of the Protheans, the hope of accomplishing his goals was diminishing.

"There are still other options," boomed a voice. It seemed to come from within Saren's own skull, drowning out his thoughts and demanding his attention. "Noveria holds the location to the relay."

Saren lowered his head in submission, a slave bending to the will of his master. "I will go."

"No. Send the asari to Noveria. You must retrieve the Cipher."

As the voice faded from Saren's thoughts, he addressed the geth unit still standing in front of him. "Tell Benezia to gear up. She is going on a mission."

The geth turned and walked out of the room, leaving Saren alone in the darkness.

* * *

The sound of the Mako's engines could hardly be heard over the howling winds as it approached the Normandy. Glancing at the sensor readings as he drove, Kaiden swore. The storm was approaching faster than he had anticipated, and if he didn't get to the Normandy in time, Joker would have no choice but to leave them. Pushing the Mako to even greater speeds, Kaiden struggled to stay in control as they hurtled towards the Normandy. The ship's cargo bay doors were open, inviting the Mako to safety.

Suddenly, Joker's voice came over the comm-system. "Normandy to Mako. I'm going to have to leave you, Commander, or we'll lose the Normandy. The storm is going to overtake you."

John cursed. "Kaiden, can you go any faster?"

"I'm not going full speed," Kaiden replied. "I can try to max it out, but I might lose control."

"Do it."

As the Mako sped up, it suddenly exited the small canyon it had been driving through. Emerging onto a wide open plain of dusty rock dotted with pools of magma, John could see the Normandy set down on the other side.

"I see you, Normandy," John radioed. "We just exited the canyon. How close is the storm?"

"Right behind you," came Joker's static-filled reply. The sand and dust that was being kicked up by the wind was beginning to interfere with communications. "Looks like you're adding some distance."

"Are we going to make it?"

Joker was silent for a moment. "I have to start moving, Commander. If that wind starts throwing up molten rocks, the Normandy's shields will fail."

Glancing over his shoulder, John said, "Tali, can you make this thing go any faster?"

Tali nodded. "I can bypass the safety restrictions on the engine."

"Okay, do it. Kaiden, just keep her going straight for the Normandy."

"I'll do my best," said Kaiden.

Typing into her omni-tool, Tali accessed the Mako's control systems and hacked her way past the security with ease. As she was about to remove the engine restrictions, a warning dialog appeared asking her to confirm. Removing the safety restrictions could potentially get them all killed, but being abandoned on the planet's surface would surely be a death sentence. Glancing up at John, Tali pressed the confirmation button and the safety systems were deactivated. Instantly Kaiden felt an increase in power, and gritting his teeth, increased the Mako's speed ever more.

Ahead, John saw the Normandy begin to stir. The engines began activating one by one, and the cargo bay door began to close. Quickly activating the radio in his breather helmet, John said, "Joker, we've increased speed! Leave the cargo bay door open."

"Yes sir," Joker replied, and the cargo bay door halted its movement.

As the Mako approached the Normandy, Joker began to give power the ship's engines; he would have hardly any time to take to the air once the Mako was aboard. The ship's VI warned Joker about moving with the cargo door open, but he ignored it.

"Decrease power," John instructed Kaiden as the Mako reached the Normandy.

Kaiden quickly took his foot off the accelerator completely, and allowed the Mako to roll into the Normandy's cargo bay. As it entered, he slammed on the brakes and the Mako skidded to a halt. As John stepped out of the Mako, the cargo bay door was already half shut and the Normandy was off the ground.

In the cockpit, Joker breathed a sigh of relief as the Normandy easily outran the storm and prepared to exit the planet's atmosphere. Activating the intercom, he simply said, "We made it."

John let out the breath that he had been holding. They had made it, but it had been too close. By Alliance regulations, Joker should have left Therum ten minutes before the Mako arrived.

* * *

"Too close, Commander," Joker said over the intercom. "Ten more seconds and we'd all be dead. Molten rock tends to melt our hull and fry our sensors. Just for future reference."

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" asked Liara. She was sitting in one of the chairs against the wall of the conference room.

"Joker pulled our asses out of there," John replied. "By Alliance regulations, he should have abandoned us. It was my miscalculation that got us into that mess, not Joker's. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Shepard," said Garrus. "If we hadn't gone in when we did, the geth would have gotten to Dr. T'Soni before us."

Garrus had a point. Though John should have recognized that they could not complete the mission before the storm was due, Liara's life had been at risk.

John nodded reluctantly. "If the whole dig site hadn't come crashing down around us, we could have waited out the storm underground."

"Speaking of the dig site," Kaiden interjected, looking at Liara, "What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was somehow related to the Prothean extinction," Liara replied. "I've been studying the Protheans for the past fifty years, but I've focused on discovering how they died. What Saren wants with the Conduit, I have no idea, but he must believe that I can tell him where and what it is."

John was not surprised. He knew that asari had much greater lifespans than other races, and although Liara looked like no older than twenty, in reality she was much older.

"Fifty years?" said Ashley. "How old are you, exactly?"

"I hate to admit it, but I'm only a hundred and six. By asari standards, I am considered little more than a child, and that is why my research has not gotten the attention it deserves. Asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on why the Protheans vanished."

"I have my own theory about what happened to the Protheans," John said quietly.

"With all due respect Commander, I've heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them."

"Why is that?"

"The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It's almost if someone doesn't want the mystery to be solved. But here is the incredible part: the Protheans were not the first species to vanish completely. The cycle began long before them."

"How do you know that? I thought the Protheans left no evidence behind."

"I have been working on this for fifty years," Liara explained. "I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, I started to notice patterns emerging. Subtle hints to what really happened to the Protheans. I cannot explain it to someone else, because I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more of a feeling derived from a half-century of dedicated research."

The room fell silent for a moment, before Tali spoke. "Who came before the Protheans? Everyone thinks they came first… if they didn't, who did?"

"I don't know. There is barely and evidence on the Protheans, and even less on those who came before them."

"How many times has this happened?"

"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Every time a great civilization builds itself up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The amount of times that the cycle has repeated is impossible to determine."

"If the Conduit was involved in the Protheans' extinction, we have to get to it before Saren does," said John.

Liara nodded. "I don't know exactly what the Conduit is, but it must be some kind of super weapon if it defeated the Protheans. Their empire spanned the galaxy."

"The Protheans were wiped out by the Reapers, a race of sentient machines. My guess is that the Conduit was built by them."

"The- The Reapers? How do you know this? Where is your proof?"

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my head… I'm still trying to sort out what it all means."

Liara looked up at John. Perhaps there was more to this human than she had first believed. "Visions? Yes, that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare."

"The geth under Saren's orders attacked our colony to try to get their hands on it. I think Saren might have damaged the beacon even more after he used it. The image I saw was not clear."

"The beacons were designed to work with Prothean physiology. Any information that you received would have been unclear, and a lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed in the process."

"None of this is helping us find Saren, or the Conduit," said Ashley. "We need to do something to stop him."

"You are right," said Liara. "Unfortunately, I don't have any information about Saren or the Conduit to give you. I am sorry."

"It's okay, Doctor," said John. "If you don't mind, I'd still like to bring you along. Your knowledge could be invaluable."

"Thank you, Commander. Saren might come after me again, and I can't think of anywhere safer than your ship. I will do all I can to aid your mission."

"Then welcome to the team, Liara."

Addressing everyone else, John said, "Everyone get some sleep. We'll be heading to Noveria soon, so you'll need your strength. Dismissed."

* * *

Despite his best efforts, John was unable to stay asleep. His head throbbed angrily, demanding rest, but the nightmares continued to wake him. Every time he drifted off to sleep, he could see the faces of the men who had fallen beside him while defending Elysium. He had saved many lives, there was no doubt, but when any soldier died under his command it affected him.

_John slid into cover as a batarian squad rounded the corner. Bullets flew overhead, threatening to claim the life of another one of his squadmates. Cursing, John provided covering fire, giving the other soldiers a chance to react and find cover of their own. As he fired, his shields suddenly failed and a bullet tore through the flesh in his arm. Gritting his teeth, John ignored the pain and continued to fire. _

_Sensing that the enemy's offensive was beginning to falter, John began pushing forward. The remaining batarian soldiers saw him coming and fled, not wanting to face the deadly soldier without more support._

_As John moved past an abandoned apartment, something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. In the doorway was the corpse of a child._

John jolted awake once again, sweating heavily. Every time he drifted off to sleep, he awoke to the same image. The child could have been no more than six, killed by the batarians simply to get her out of the way as they attempted to capture the colony. This image was one among many others that continued to haunt him.

Climbing out of bed, John exited his cabin and headed into the mess area. Helping himself to a cup of coffee, he sat at the only table. The coffee tasted like dirt, but at least it was hot.

As he drank, John heard one of the sleeper pods opening behind him. Turning, he saw Adams walking towards him.

"What are you doing up, Adams?" John asked.

"It's Tali's turn to get some sleep," Adams replied. "We're on shifts. Can't leave engineering empty."

"How's she been doing down there?"

"Great. I've never seen someone with her abilities. She's even taught me a thing or two since she got here."

John smiled and said, "Glad to hear it."

Adams saluted and hurried into the elevator. Before long, the elevator opened again, and Tali entered the mess area.

Noticing John, she quickly said, "Oh, hello Commander."

John smiled tiredly in return, motioning for Tali to sit. "Good job on the mission today."

Tali accepted the invitation and sat at the table across from John. "Thank you. I just wish we could have helped those people."

"I know. That's the hardest part about helping people; you can't save everyone."

After a few moments of silence, Tali finally said, "Is something troubling you, Commander?"

John looked up. "Is it that obvious?"

"When you and everyone you know lives inside environmental suits their entire lives, you get good at reading body language."

"It's not something I need to trouble you with."

"If you need someone to talk to, I will listen."

Sighing, John said, "Have you ever heard of the Skyllian Blitz?"

"Sorry, no."

"About seven years ago, batarian slavers and pirates attacked the human colony Elysium. They thought it was fair reprisal for our expansion into the Verge. I was on shore leave at the time, on Elysium. When the attack hit, there was almost no time to react… the colony's defences were wiped out within a few hours. I realized that someone had to step up, and I ended up leading the defence."

"Why you?"

"The highest ranking officers were mostly wiped out in the initial assault. The batarians targeted their ships first. I just kind of reacted, and people followed me."

John shook his head sadly as he spoke. "The things I saw were… horrible. Sure, I saved lives, but I couldn't save everyone. Women and children were shot and left to rot in the streets; the slavers and pirates didn't discriminate between soldier and civilian. Men under my command died around me, enraged by the brutality of the batarians' assault. And then the reinforcements arrived."

"The Alliance?"

"No, the batarian warlords had gathered more troops. They broke through our defences near Illyria's government complex. I managed to hold them off, but every man who stood with me was killed."

"I'm sorry, Shepard. I shouldn't have asked."

John shook his head. "Don't be. Talking about it helps."

Tali was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Is that why you were chosen for the Spectres?"

"One of the reasons."

John's thoughts were interrupted by his omni-tool chiming loudly, indicating an important notification. Anderson had left him a message.

_FROM: David Anderson (Verified)_

_SUBJECT: Watch Out_

_Shepard,_

_I got some intel that a woman has been asking questions about you here on the Citadel. Normally I would not think much of it, since you're the newest Spectre, but I had a bad gut feeling about it so I did some digging. _

_Her ship's logs indicate that she came from Omega. Omega is in the Terminus systems, and I don't need to tell you what that means. If someone on Omega is interested in you, it's probably not a good thing. _

_This woman seems to be catching onto your trail, too. As I'm typing this, her ship is departing for Therum. Until we discover who this person is, we have to assume that she's extremely dangerous, possibly even working for Saren. Keep your head down, Commander, and I'll try to find out more._

_Anderson_

John frowned as he checked the message's timestamp. It had been sent just as the Normandy had left Therum, which meant that the woman was catching up to them.

"Is something wrong?" Tali asked, noticing the expression on John's face.

"Maybe. Someone's been asking questions; she might be working for Saren. Anderson said she was onto our trail."

"Unless she's right behind us, the trail should die on Therum. No one at the dig site was left alive, and we didn't have any contact with the colony."

"I hope so… I have a bad feeling about this."

Tali frowned underneath her visor. "I'll get back down to engineering in case there's trouble."

John nodded and hurried towards the cockpit.

* * *

Miranda's small ship set down quietly in the heart of the dig site. The storm had since passed, leaving a thick film of dust covering every surface. The planet's sun was setting, and the dig site looked eerily empty in the evening light. Loading her gun, Miranda pulled on a breather helmet and exited the ship.

Trudging through the loose sand that had been scattered by the storm, Miranda approached the entrance to the mineshaft. The door's control panel was badly damaged, most likely by rocks that had been thrown by the strong winds earlier in the day. Despite this, she managed to get the door to slide open using her omni-tool.

As she looked down the now open mineshaft, Miranda swore. The cavern below appeared to have collapsed in on itself. The chances that someone had survived were extremely small, and even if they had, there was no way she could get to them. Unless they could tell her where Shepard had gone, they were useless to her.

Activating her omni-tool, Miranda contacted the Illusive Man.

"Yes?" the Illusive Man answered.

"No survivors at the dig site," Miranda reported. "Saren's geth were very thorough, and the cavern below ground has collapsed in."

"Check Nova Yekaterinburg, the colony's capital. If the Normandy was damaged by the storm, they'll have gone there for repairs."

"Yes sir."

Miranda terminated the connected and walked back to her ship. As she started the engines, Miranda prayed that John had been careless and left some sort of trace at the colony. If she couldn't find him, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

Powell's omni-tool chimed loudly, waking him. They had just passed through the mass relay, and were nearing the Citadel. Standing, Powell woke the other men and proceeded to double check the crates.

"Powell, we're being asked for our credentials," the pilot said over the intercom.

Hurrying to the cockpit, Powell sat in the copilot's seat. "Did you give them the credentials for the shipping company?"

"Yes, I just sent them. I'm waiting for a response."

Powell breathed a sigh of relief as they got clearance to continue to the docking area. They had passed the first test.

Citadel Security used large scale scanners to scan entire ships as they entered the docking area, which were programmed to pick up on any illegitimate items or substances. Because of this, Powell had warned Cerberus that he would be unable to smuggle certain weapons parts onto the Citadel, such as the mass accelerators. Even though all parts that would be detected had been removed, Powell was still worried.

As the ship entered the designated docking bay, the Citadel's security systems scanned the ship. Powell crossed his fingers and waited.

"All clear," came the notification over the radio. "You are cleared to land. Welcome to the Citadel."

Both Powell and the pilot breathed a sigh of relief as the ship set down gently on the docking bay's floor. They had done it.

* * *

"I'm telling you Commander, no one's following us," Joker said as he typed into the computer. "We're the only ones out here."

"How far away from the relay are we?" John asked.

"We passed through it about twenty minutes ago. If someone had intercepted our transmission and followed us through, we'd see them on the scanners by now."

John breathed a sigh of relief. "We must have lost her at Therum."

Joker nodded. "I'll keep an eye out, but I don't think you have to worry."

"Good. Alert me when we arrive at Noveria."

"Will do Commander."

John exited the cockpit and walked aft. Taking the stairs down, he crossed the mess area and entered his cabin. Activating the computer on his desk, he began typing a message to Anderson.

_FROM: John Shepard (Verified)_

_Subject: Re: Watch Out_

_Whoever was following us seems to have lost our trail at Therum. Thanks for the heads up._

_Shepard_

John sent the message off and leaned back into his chair. He had hardly gotten any sleep, but they were approaching Noveria and he needed to make preparations. Ordering his eyes to stay open, John exited his cabin and headed down to the cargo bay.

Garrus was already awake and double checking the Mako when he approached. Noticing John, he slid out from underneath the vehicle and stood.

"Is the Mako ready?" John asked.

Garrus nodded. "Everything seems to be working, though you'll need to get Tali to check the really technical parts."

"Good to hear."

"You don't think we'll be needing it on this mission, do you? I mean, we are visiting an inhabited colony."

"It never hurts to be prepared. Noveria isn't in Citadel space, and there have been reports of geth."

Garrus nodded and climbed into the Mako while John spoke. There was a load roar as he started the engine, and then a deafening boom.

"You'd better send Tali in here right away," Garrus muttered as he cut the engines. "That didn't sound good."

John couldn't help but grin as he asked, "How badly did you break it?"

"I have no idea. I think it's something to do with the removed safety restrictions on the engine."

"I'll go get her."

Tali was glancing curiously at the door leading to the cargo bay when John entered engineering; the loud noise had told her that something was wrong.

"Garrus tried to start the Mako," John explained as he approached.

"Keelah," Tali muttered. "Leave it to Garrus…"

John chuckled. "Think you can take a look at it? I need the Mako operational before we reach Noveria."

Tali glanced down at her console and then nodded. "How badly did he break it?"

"He had no idea, which probably means pretty badly."

Logging out of her console, Tali followed John. As they were reaching the door to the cargo hold, Tali said, "Commander?"

"Yes?" John asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"I'd like to come with you on Noveria… if that's okay."

John stopped walking and turned to face her. "Sure. I wasn't sure you would want to after Therum."

"Thank you, Shepard."

John was slightly surprised by Tali's use of his name, but pushed the thought to the back of his mind. "Make sure you're geared up by the time we reach Noveria, and meet me up in the cockpit."

Tali nodded and followed John out into the cargo hold. Garrus was cursing from inside the Mako, and John swore he saw a spark fly.

"Garrus, what exactly did you do?" Tali asked as she too disappeared inside the Mako.

Leaving them to their work, John headed into the elevator.

* * *

Miranda sighed as she climbed back into her shuttle. The search for Shepard at the colony had proved fruitless, and it was getting late. The Illusive Man would not be pleased with the results of her search; John was the key to their plans, and it was vital that she learned what would be the best way to corrupt him. However, they still had some time before they could put their plan into action, and because of this Miranda remained calm.

Checking the time on her omni-tool, Miranda calculated that she had just enough time to get to the Citadel for her meeting. Starting the shuttle's engines, she headed for the system's relay.


	12. Chapter 10: Cold Reception

**Chapter 10: Cold Reception**

Powell unstrapped himself from the seat as the ship's engines powered down. They were in a private shipping dock, and would not be disturbed unless C-Sec found a reason to search the vessel. Not that they would find anything if they searched it anyway.

As Powell entered the ship's small cargo hold, the pilot opened the bay doors to reveal the private dock. A freighter shuttle was waiting for them.

"Get all the crates onto the shuttle," Powell instructed the Cerberus agents. "Jackson, you will drive to the warehouse. I have a meeting to make."

Jackson, the highest ranking Cerberus officer, nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes sir."

Walking briskly, Powell exited the ship and crossed the docking bay. After making sure he wasn't being trailed, he boarded a cab.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

Powell handed him a datapad which had a warehouse number on it. "Make it quick, please."

The cab dropped Powell off outside a nondescript warehouse. The building was hidden away behind a number of other warehouses, providing the perfect place for a discreet meeting. Crates were stacked high along the alleyway used to access it, obscuring the entrance even further.

Powell approached the entrance cautiously; this would be the perfect location for an ambush. Even though this was the Citadel, C-Sec didn't have nearly enough men to patrol the entirety of the station, and as a result certain districts could be nearly as dangerous as Omega's alleyways.

The door slid open noiselessly as Powell approached, revealing a spacious, dimly lit area. There were two chairs and a table at the far end of the room, but Powell couldn't see anyone else inside.

"Hello?" he shouted. He waited for his echo to die and then listened for a response.

Nothing.

Slightly annoyed, Powell crossed the room and sat in one of the chairs. He was supposed to be meeting Barla Von, a volus who could tell him how to smuggle detected objects past the Citadel's ship scanners. If he didn't get the information, his employer would not be pleased, and Powell had a feeling that would be a bad situation to be in.

Suddenly, he was startled by a woman's voice behind him. "Hello Powell."

Powell stood and spun around in alarm. He recognized the voice, and it definitely did not belong to a volus.

The woman was of average height with dark brown hair, and dressed in a white suit that hugged her body and accentuated her curves. She exuded a sense of confidence as she strode towards the table. Powell found himself gaping and blinked, trying to convince himself that he was not dreaming.

"Are you Miranda?" Powell asked.

"I am," Miranda replied, as she walked around the table and sat opposite of Powell. "I apologize for the secrecy, but it's unavoidable in my line of work."

"I thought I was supposed to be meeting Barla Von?"

"I've already taken care of that; he's in the other room. Please, have a seat."

Powell was not enjoying this new turn of events. If Miranda had done his job for him, that meant he wasn't necessary anymore. Furthermore, from the way she spoke, he couldn't be sure if Barla Von was still alive.

"Are you here to kill me?" Powell asked, doing his best to keep his voice calm. "I've done everything you asked of me. The weapons are being unloaded right now."

"Unfortunately, you are no longer useful to us," Miranda said casually as she unclipped her heavy pistol from her belt. "And we can't have any loose ends."

Powell moved quickly as his basic survival instincts took over. Shoving the table in Miranda's direction, he turned and ran into the shadows. Hiding behind a crate, Powell tried to control his breathing as he withdrew his own pistol. He had only ever been in one gunfight, which he had won, but this was a different situation entirely. Miranda was a professional, and she wasn't about to let the Illusive Man down for a second time.

"Don't make this more difficult than it has to be," Miranda called out across the warehouse. "Surely you don't really believe you can survive this? Surrender now and it will be painless."

Leaning out from behind the crate, Powell fired a single shot in Miranda's direction. Miranda responded by firing back at him, and Powell managed to pull his head back just as the slugs flew past.

Suddenly, he felt an invisible force begin to lift him, pulling him out from his hiding place.

"No!" he screamed, clawing at the ground.

Miranda's arms glowed blue, her biotics reeling Powell in. There was no empathy in her eyes as she pulled him towards his inevitable death.

"Please," Powell begged. "Don't do this!"

Ignoring his pleas, Miranda pulled the trigger twice. The slugs impacted his chest and tore through his heart, killing him instantly. The body dropped to the floor as she walked away.

* * *

Tali checked the time again. Just ten minutes until they would reach Noveria. Forcing herself to look away from the clock, Tali went back to work on the Mako.

"You okay?" Garrus asked, noticing her nervousness.

"I'm fine," Tali replied quickly. When he looked unconvinced, she added, "Really."

Truthfully, Tali didn't know why she was so nervous. She had already been on a mission with John, and she hadn't done anything stupid. He had agreed to let her come this time without hesitating, too. Surely it meant something if the first human Spectre thought she was good enough for his squad.

But still, Tali remained nervous.

"You'd better get up there," said Garrus, bringing Tali's attention back to the present. "Shepard will want to brief you before we reach Noveria."

"Aren't you coming?"

Garrus shook his head. "I've got to finish up here. Besides, we aren't expecting any trouble, since we still have contact with the colony. Just one person to watch Shepard's back should be enough."

Tali was about to suggest that Garrus go instead when she stopped herself. She wanted to go, didn't she? She had asked Shepard if she could come along.

Climbing out of the Mako, Tali walked to the elevator. The ride to the deck above seemed to take forever, but really only took a few seconds. As she stepped out of the elevator and began climbing the stairs to the CIC, Tali realized that she hadn't set foot on the first deck since she had joined the Normandy's crew.

Stepping through the door at the top of the stairs, Tali glanced around. One of the guards watching the door gave her a strange look, but said nothing as she looked around the CIC. John was nowhere to be seen, so she walked towards the cockpit. John turned to face her as she entered.

"We're still a couple minutes out," said John. "Do you have your weapons on you?"

Tali nodded. "I do, but Garrus said we were visiting an inhabited colony."

"We are, but Noveria isn't in Council space. If they choose to ignore my Spectre status, things could get interesting."

"Not to mention they are very serious about protecting the secrecy of their operation," Joker added.

"Maybe Garrus should come along," Tali said nervously.

John shook his head. "If it looks like I'm leading an attack force, I doubt we'll make it out alive."

"Here we are," Joker announced. "Entering the atmosphere now."

As the Normandy entered Noveria's atmosphere and flew towards the planet's surface, Joker opened a communications channel to the colony. "Approach Control, this is the SSV Normandy, requesting a vector and a berth."

"Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled," came the reply. "Our defence grid is armed and tracking you. State your business."

"Citadel business. We've got a Council Spectre aboard."

"Landing access granted, Normandy. Be advised, we will be confirming identification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded."

"What a fun bunch!" Joker said sarcastically as he closed the channel. "I think I'll take my next leave here."

Tali couldn't help but smile under her visor.

"Okay Commander, you're up," said Joker as the Normandy pulled into the docking bay. "Try not to piss them off and get us impounded. The cold doesn't agree with me."

John shook his head at his pilot's nerve as he walked towards the airlock. Tali was close behind, checking her shotgun as she walked.

"Sounds like we're off to a good start," John commented as the airlock decontamination process began.

Tali responded by cocking her shotgun.

The outer door opened to reveal a space dock that was empty save for the Normandy. John and Tali followed the walkway towards the colony's entrance. As they approached, a woman with two armed guards stopped them.

"That's far enough," said the woman.

"Is something wrong, Officer?" John asked.

"You better hope there isn't," said the female guard.

The woman ignored her subordinate's outburst and continued, "This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials."

"I am Commander Shepard, a Council Spectre."

"Load of horsecrap, ma'am," the guard scoffed.

"We will need to confirm that," said the woman. "Also, I must advise you that firearms are not allowed on Noveria. Sargent Stirling, secure their weapons."

As the guard stepped towards him, John immediately raised his pistol level with her head. "No one takes my gun."

Tali was almost as quick to react, aiming at the other guard with her shotgun.

"We are authorized to use lethal force," said the woman. "You have until the count of three to surrender your weapons."

"We're not going to stand down. If we have to shoot you, so be it."

The woman began counting down from three, clearly annoyed with John's statement. "Three… two… one."

Stirling immediately opened fire on John. Tali returned fire with her shotgun, covering John while they backed away to find some cover.

John ducked behind a stone pillar, allowing his shields to recharge. Glancing to his left, he saw that Tali had taken refuge behind the pillar on the opposite site of the doorway.

"What are we going to do?" Tali asked, shooting around the corner to keep the guards back.

"I've got a trick up my sleeve," John said as he withdrew a high powered hand grenade. "They won't even know what hit them."

Just as John was about to throw the grenade, a voice came over the intercom system and the guards stopped firing. "Captain Matsuo, stand down! We confirmed his identity. Spectres are allowed to carry weapons here."

Once Matsuo ordered her Stirling and the other guard to stand down, John cautiously stepped out from behind the pillar and lowered his weapon. Tali, however, remained unconvinced, and she kept her gun trained on Stirling's head.

"You may proceed, Spectre," said Matsuo. "Sorry about all of this. I hope the rest of your visit is less confrontational."

John nodded. "You were just doing your job."

"Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

"Behave yourself," said Stirling.

Only after the guards had stepped aside did Tali finally lower her gun.

"We got lucky," Tali said quietly. "If they had decided to charge our cover, they would have had us."

"Maybe," John replied. "I would have gotten at least one of them with the grenade."

Tali followed John closely as the stepped into the entrance lobby for Port Hanshan. She was acutely aware of the many different security cameras trained on them as they made their way towards the security desk.

As John stepped towards the desk, a weapons scanner detected his weapons and triggered an alarm. The woman at the desk glanced up at him.

"I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis," she said as she disabled the alarm. "We apologize for the incident in the docking bay. Were either of you injured?"

John shook his head. "We're fine. Though, next time, maybe you should have your guards confirm my identity _before_ you start shooting."

Gianna nodded. "That is what's supposed to happen. Unfortunately, you refused to relinquish your firearms. Our top priority is to protect our client's privacy and safety. Once your identity had been confirmed, your firearms would have been returned to you."

"I understand, but as I said to the guards, no one takes my gun."

"Well, I'm just glad I was able to resolve the situation before anyone got hurt."

John smiled. "Thanks for your help. I really wasn't looking forward to using that grenade."

Tali snickered quietly to herself when she saw the look that crossed Gianna's face. To her credit, she made a quick recovery.

Smiling in return, Gianna said, "Yes, that would have made things much worse. Now, do you have any questions before you enter?"

"Actually, yes," John replied. "I've heard some interesting reports. Has anyone unusual passed through here recently?"

"Unusual? Hmm… an asari Matriarch passed through here a few days ago. Lady Benezia."

John and Tali exchanged glances at the mention of Liara's mother. If Benezia was here, there was something on Noveria that Saren was after.

"Passed through?" John asked. "Where is she now?"

"She left for the Peak Fifteen research facility days ago. As far as I know, she's still there."

"Could you tell me how to get there? I need to speak to her."

"You'll need to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave this port."

"Where can I find the administrator?" John asked, beginning to get annoyed.

"His office is on the main level. Left at the top of the elevator."

"Thanks. Can we go in now?"

"Of course. If you have any more questions, you can find me in the administrator's office."

Tali waited until they had entered the elevator and were out of earshot before speaking. "Shepard, should we tell Liara that her mom is here? She would want to know."

John nodded. "I'll contact the Normandy after we speak to Anoleis. I might ask Garrus to come along too, since we know for sure that Saren is involved in this somehow."

"I wonder what Saren has Benezia doing up at the research lab, anyway?"

"That's a good question. Maybe they recovered the Conduit and are running tests on it."

"If that's the case, she probably brought a whole army of geth along with her."

"There can't be that many here or someone would have noticed. How would Benezia have gotten them past all the security scanners?"

When the elevator arrived on Port Hanshan's main level, John stepped out and looked around the spacious area. Guards patrolled everywhere, their hands on their rifles, watching for the slightest hint of trouble.

Keeping his pistol close at hand, John walked towards the administrator's office.

* * *

Rael'Zorah read the report in front of him for the fifth time that evening, and he still couldn't believe what he was reading. _Geth beyond the veil._ Were they finally coming to finish them off?

Nearly two centuries ago the quarians had fled Rannoch, their homeworld, when the geth rose up in rebellion. They had been created by as a manual labour force, but gained intelligence. Terrified of their own creation, the quarians attempted to shut down every geth unit to prevent conflict, but in doing so made the situation worse. In response, the geth rose up against their creators, killing millions. The quarians were forced to flee Rannoch, and the Migrant Fleet was created to house those who were left alive. The geth had not been seen past the Perseus Veil since.

Well, until now.

The report stated that numerous geth warships had been spotted around the Theseus System. This was a long way away from the Veil, and Rael worried that the geth were preparing to attack the Migrant Fleet. The loss of just one liveship would condemn millions of quarians to death. As a member of the Admiralty Board, Rael was responsible for ensuring the safety of his people, which is why he had called a meeting with the rest of the board.

Rael looked up when his console chimed, indicating the last admiral had joined the video conference. It was Daro'Xen.

"Did I miss anything important?" Daro asked.

"No," Shala'Raan replied. "We were just reading the report."

"We need to strike pre-emptively," Han'Gerrel said after he finished reading. "Before they get close to the flotilla."

"I'm not sure that's wise. Attacking them would only incite retaliation; they haven't done anything hostile towards us yet."

"Yet."

Daro remained silent while the other admirals bickered between themselves; she was content to simply let the situation play out. While getting some geth units to run tests on would be beneficial to her goals, she had other ways of getting what she needed. By remaining silent she appeared neutral and prevented the other admirals from discovering her true feelings towards the geth.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," started Zaal'Koris. "When we allowed the geth to become sentient, we created life, and they have as much of a right to live as we do."

Daro snorted, laughing quietly to herself. Zaal glared at her before continuing, "We tried to commit genocide on their entire race. We were in the wrong! They were right to defend themselves, and it would be wrong to attack them now."

Han muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. Although Zaal couldn't hear what he said, he had a good idea what the admiral had muttered. Due to his stance on the Morning War, many quarians saw him as a geth sympathizer and a traitor to his people.

"Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves," said Rael. "I propose that we send a small ship to investigate the Theseus system and any geth ships that are there. Then at least we will have an idea of what we're up against."

"I agree," said Shala. "This will also give us more time to decide what to do if we truly do find geth beyond the Veil."

Han looked down in embarrassment. He hadn't even considered that the report could be inaccurate, and had suggested that they go to war. "I agree. Send a reconnaissance team."

After Daro and Zaal had agreed to the idea, Rael said, "I also have something else to propose. I would like to lead the reconnaissance team."

Shala looked up in alarm. "You can't be serious, Rael."

"I am completely serious."

"What about your duties here?"

"I would only be absent for a short period of time. A few days at most."

"Rael brought us the report," Han finally said. "I vote we let him go. He can make a proper assessment of the situation and make a recommendation on whether or not we attack."

After the other admirals reluctantly stated their agreement, Rael said, "Thank you. I will begin preparations immediately."

After he had left the conference meeting, Rael leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. _One day I will build you a house on our homeworld, Tali. I swear it._

* * *

John strode into Anoleis' outer office and found Gianna sitting behind the desk. She glanced up and smiled when John walked up to her.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"We would like to see Anoleis," John replied.

"One moment please."

Gianna activated the intercom on her desk and waited for Anoleis to answer.

"Yes, what what?" Anoleis asked. John could immediately tell that he was a salarian from the way he spoke.

"Commander Shepard is asking to see you, sir."

A loud sigh was audible from the speaker. "Fine, send him in."

"His office is in the back," Gianna said, pointing.

John thanked Gianna and walked around behind her desk. Another doorway opened to reveal a spacious office. Anoleis was sitting on the far side of a table that was positioned in the center of the room, typing into a console. He glanced up when John entered, and then looked back down at the screen.

"You'll excuse me if I don't stand," said Anoleis. "I have no time to entertain spaceborn vagabonds. I will only cooperate as required by the executive board."

"I see you've looked up my file," John said dryly.

"Of course. Only a fool enters negotiations without knowing the other party's tendencies."

"I wasn't aware we were going to be negotiating anything. I just have a few questions to ask you."

"Then hurry up and ask. Every minute of my time that you waste costs the company twelve credits. I will keep a running tally."

"I've heard an asari Matriarch is here. Benezia?"

"Yes, she arrived a few days ago with a personal escort and some cargo. She went up to the Peak Fifteen research facility."

"Define 'personal escort'."

"The phrase is self-explanatory: bodyguards attending to the safety of her person. Asari commandos, mostly."

"Exactly how big of a personal escort did she bring with her?" asked Tali.

"I am not at liberty to say."

John sighed. "What can you tell me about her cargo?"

"Large, heavy, and sealed. It passed weapons screening. Beyond that, it isn't our concern."

"Do you have any idea what brought her out here?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be at liberty to tell you that either. We take the privacy of our clients very seriously. She came here as Agent Saren's executor."

"His what?" asked Tali.

"Ex-ec-utor. Saren is a major shareholder in a company that makes use of the Peak Fifteen research facility. Lady Benezia is authorized to act in his name. That is all I will say."

"I need to see her," said John, crossing his arms. "Immediately."

"I'm afraid that you cannot. Peak Fifteen is a private facility, and besides, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttles are grounded and surface access has been cut off."

"Surface access, you say?"

"Has been cut off, I said. The roads are not suitable for travel. Don't make an issue out of this, Shepard."

John rubbed his eyes in frustration. "I have no further questions at this time."

"Good! I received a dozen urgent messages while you dithered about."

Glancing at Tali, John strode out of the room, past Gianna's desk, and back into the main lobby.

"Well that was a waste of time," Tali muttered. "What do we do now?"

"I wonder if someone else around here can help us get access to the research facility."

"We could just have the Normandy drop us off outside the port in the Mako…"

John grinned. "Good idea. Want to make the call?"

Tali typed into her omni-tool and radioed the Normandy. "Joker?"

"Tali?" came the reply. "Yeah, it's me. What's up?"

"Uh, we're having an issue with security. How hard would it be to drop the Mako off in the mountains outside the port?"

Joker was silent for a moment while he typed into the Normandy's computer. "Sorry Tali, but I can't do that. As soon as I headed that direction they'd have their defense grid ready to shoot us down."

What Tali said next John didn't understand, but he assumed his translator didn't translate curse words.

"Well, that didn't sound good," John commented as Tali terminated the connection.

"He can't do it. Their defense grid would shoot the Normandy out of the sky."

"Well, I guess we'll have to do it the hard way."

* * *

"No more loose ends?" asked the Illusive Man.

"He's dead," Miranda confirmed. "The men that were under his command are waiting for orders."

"Have them continue. I want those weapons on the Citadel by the end of the week."

"I'll give the order."

"Good. Now, what about Shepard?"

Miranda sighed. "It appears he never visited the colony on Therum. The Normandy must have evaded the storm and not needed any repairs. I found no way of picking up his trail."

The Illusive Man took a deep breath and prevented himself from getting angry. Miranda was his top operative, and she had always served him well. If she said the trail was cold, the trail was cold, and it was likely not her fault.

"I'll make some calls. If I hear anything about Shepard's whereabouts, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I want you to visit our research station for Project Hammer."

"For what purpose?"

"I want your opinion on whether or not the resources spent on the project could be better used elsewhere."

"Yes sir. Just send me the coordinates."

"Already done. Just remember, Shepard is our top priority. If we hear anything, I want you to drop what you're doing and get back on his trail."

"Of course."

"I expect to hear from you soon."

* * *

Garrus looked up from his work when John and Tali stepped off the elevator. "That was fast. How did it go?"

"The port's administrator won't allow us to visit the research facility that Benezia is holed up in," John said angrily. "Without security clearance there's no way we're getting out there."

"There's always a way."

"If you have an idea, Garrus, would you mind sharing it with the team?" Tali asked.

"I have two ideas, actually. Both involve getting your hands dirty."

"That sounds promising," John said with a grin.

"First, we could kidnap the administrator and force him to give us security clearance," Garrus explained. "Things could get a little messy, but we have a krogan on the team."

"And the second option?"

"Well, it involves less shooting. We could just have Tali hack her way into Port Hanshan's security system and give us access."

John looked at Tali. "That might be our best option. Would you be willing to do it?"

Tali nodded. "If you need me to do it, I will."

"Thank you. Just tell me what you need."

"If they're smart, they will have restricted remote access. I'll probably need to do it from a console inside the colony."

"Can you do it without security finding out about it?"

"Yes, I should be able to."

"Okay. Garrus, get Tali inside and find her a console to work on. I'll have Joker get the Normandy ready to take off in case this goes badly."

"I have to get geared up," Garrus replied. "I'll meet you two on deck one."

While Garrus struggled into his combat armour and checked his weapons, John and Tali rode the elevator up. Tali was visibly nervous, wringing her hands together.

"You don't have to do it, you know," John said quietly. "I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do."

"How is this any different from when you give me an order during a mission?" Tali asked.

"This is different because I asked you to do it, I didn't order you. Hacking into the colony isn't technically legal, so it's your decision."

Tali looked at John and laughed. "Shepard, I'm not worried about what Noveria security is going to do to me if they find out. I'd like to see them face the entire Migrant Fleet."

"Your people would back you up?"

"Of course. I would get even more support if I explained to them that I believed it to be the right thing to do."

"I'd back you up too, you know."

"I know."

"Okay then," John said as the stepped out of the elevator. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I-"

Tali was cut off by Joker's voice coming over the intercom. "Commander, Liara wants to speak with you in the medical bay."

"Thanks Joker," John replied. "Tell her I'll be there shortly."

Tali glanced at the ground and then back at John. "I better go."

As Tali climbed up the stairs to the Normandy's CIC, she slapped her hand on her visor in embarrassment. What the hell was wrong with her? She needed to start acting properly towards her captain. If the Normandy had been a quarian vessel, she would have been in serious trouble just for chatting to him.

After Tali left, John turned and headed for the medical bay. He had been meaning to speak with Liara since he had rescued her on Therum, but it always seemed like he had a thousand other things to do.

As he entered the medical bay, Chakwas pointed him towards another room in the back. "Liara has made herself home in there."

John thanked her and entered the small room. Liara was sitting at the desk, typing something into a datapad. When she heard John enter, she stood and turned to face him.

"Hello, Commander," said Liara.

"You wanted to see me?" John asked. "I've been meaning to talk to you since Therum, but there never seems to be much downtime around here."

Liara smiled. "I know what you mean. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about. I never properly thanked you for saving me from the geth, Commander. If you hadn't shown up…"

"I'm just glad we got there in time."

"So am I. Commander… I know you took a chance bringing me aboard. I've seen the way your crew looks at me. They don't trust me. I wanted to thank you for that too."

"The crew will come around; they're just not used to seeing aliens aboard. Most of them signed up under Captain Anderson before I took over. They came to protect humanity's interests, and never thought they'd be working alongside other species."

"I hope they do. I am nothing like my mother. I will do whatever I can to help you stop Saren, Commander. I promise."

"I trust you, Liara; you don't have to worry about that. I know that you won't let me down."

"It means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you."

"There is one other thing," John said quietly. "I'm not sure how you're going to take it."

"What? What is it?"

"Benezia is here, on Noveria. I thought you should know."

Liara looked down at the ground. "Please, let me come with you. I need to know why she is doing this."

"I want to let you, Liara, but I need to know that if it comes down to it, you will do what is necessary. If you can't talk some sense into her, we have to stop her from aiding Saren in the future."

"I know, Commander," Liara replied, trying to hide her emotion. "I promise."

"Okay then. I'll let you know when we're ready to leave."

As John turned and left the room, Liara buried her face in her hands. "Thank you, Shepard."


	13. Chapter 11: Peak Fifteen

**Chapter 11: Peak Fifteen**

Garrus checked around the corner and motioned for Tali to follow. They had taken an elevator up into an office building, and were now trying to find an empty office.

Tali followed Garrus and tried to act natural, though it was difficult with a shotgun on her back.

"Just act like you belong here," Garrus muttered as they walked down the hallway.

"How are a quarian and a turian, both carrying guns, supposed to act like they belong here?" Tali asked with a hint of a laugh.

"Good point. If anyone asks, we're the new recruits looking for the security office."

"You think they're going to believe that? I had to hack the elevator controls to get us up here."

"Probably not, but most people won't make a fuss if you're holding a gun."

Tali smirked. She liked Garrus, even though he could be a real bosh'tet at times.

"This should do," said Garrus, stopping outside one of the offices. "Can you get the door open?"

Tali glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, and then quickly hacked into the door's control panel. The room was alarmed, so Tali disabled it before opening the door.

Garrus entered the office first, checking the corners. Tali followed him inside and sealed the door behind her.

"Watch the door," Tali instructed Garrus as she booted up the computer on the desk. "Make sure no one comes in; this shouldn't take long."

Moving into the corner near the door, Garrus unholstered his assault rifle. If anyone came in, they would first see Tali at the desk and he would surprise them from behind. At least, that was the plan.

Tali began typing furiously on the keyboard; she was determined to finish as quickly as possible. Shepard was counting on her so they could stop Benezia, and she wasn't about to let him down.

"Okay, I'm into the central server," Tali said triumphantly.

"Good," Garrus replied. "Get whatever we need, and let's get out of here."

"Hmm… It looks like we need a garage pass to get access to the mountains, but the passes are manually verified by Anoleis."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I will have to hack into Anoleis' console to authenticate it."

"We might want to avoid that. Is there any other way?"

Tali quickly went over her options. "I don't think so."

"Then you'd better do it, but hurry up. I hear voices in the hallway."

The security protecting Anoleis' computer proved to be no match for Tali's skill. Working quickly, Tali scanned through the files, looking for anything that could help them. A single file caught her attention.

"Seriously?" she said out loud.

"What is it?"

"He keeps a list of every person that he accepts bribes from, unencrypted."

"Tali, you're supposed to be verifying the garage pass, not looking through Anoleis' files!"

"Sorry," Tali apologized, but she downloaded the file to her omni-tool anyway. "I just thought a backup plan couldn't hurt."

Using Anoleis' computer, Tali authenticated their request for a garage pass. Making sure to leave everything how she found it, she shut down the console.

"Okay, I'm done," said Tali. "Let's get out of here."

"Where's the pass?" Garrus asked.

"I just authenticated the request. Shepard has to go pick it up from security."

The hallway had grown quiet, but Tali unholstered her shotgun anyway. Opening the door, she prepared for a fight.

Garrus peered out first, checking in both directions. "Clear."

Tali eased out into the hallway. "Are you _sure_ you heard voices?"

"Positive."

Increasing the input volume on her suit's audio receptors, Tali listened for anything out of the ordinary. She was greeted only by a thick wall of silence.

"There's no one here," Tali whispered. "Even a team of trained soldiers makes some noise when they're hiding."

"Then let's go," said Garrus, making his way down the hallway. "Just remember the cover story."

"Right. Security recruits looking for the new office?"

"Yeah, and if they say they didn't hire any new recruits, we shoot them."

Only after they had reached the elevator without being questioned did Tali relax. Smiling to herself, she radioed John to give him the good news.

* * *

Project Hammer was truly a remarkable undertaking. The advanced weapons system made use of lost Prothean technology that had been recovered by Cerberus, and would be ten times more powerful than current weapons in use on ships once it was built. However, due to its enormous size, the weapon was difficult to move and deploy, which somewhat limited its viability as a war asset.

Miranda marvelled at the size of the weapon as she watched the construction process from inside the Cerberus station. They had barely started work on the weapon and it was already twice as long as the Normandy.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Miranda turned from the window to face the man who had entered the room. He appeared to be in his early fourties, and had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Yes it is," Miranda replied, shaking his hand. "You must be Dr. Clark?"

"That's me. And you are Ms. Lawson?"

"Indeed."

Clark stood beside Miranda and looked out into space. "I imagine you're here about the project."

Miranda nodded. "I'm here to evaluate the weapon's worth to Cerberus."

"I'm afraid I don't have much to show you other than the blueprints. We received funding less than a week ago."

"I am aware. How long do you estimate it will take to complete?"

"Two years at least. Probably two and a half or three."

"That's a hell of a long time."

"Yes, but it will be worth it. Once completed, nothing will be able to compete against it. Although its usefulness might be limited due to the size, there are a variety of situations that Hammer would be perfectly suited for."

"Like what? Let's say we're leading an assault on a planet. If we brought it through a relay, the defense would have plenty of time to destroy it before it could be deployed."

Clark shook his head and smiled. "We're building it so it can withstand relay transit fully deployed."

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"The firepower is going to be incredible too. It could rip right through the Destiny Ascension like a hot knife through butter, shields and all."

"Yes, I read about the Prothean technology being used in the report. But what about defense? As soon as it's fired, the enemy will realize its power and focus their attack on it."

"The entire system is powered by an enormous eezo core. We plan to include kinetic shield generators to surround it completely. If firing is drawing too much power, all energy will be diverted to the shields automatically. However, you should never really have to worry about that, in theory. The range on the weapon will be far greater than any other weapons system we have currently."

"Well, it seems like you've thought of everything."

"I have high confidence in this project," Clark said with a smile. "Once it's done, there won't be a fleet in the entire galaxy capable of stopping us."

It was times like this that Miranda occasionally questioned her involvement with Cerberus. She believed strongly in humanity's worth, and was even willing to kill to further humanity's position in the galaxy. However, she did not harbour hatred towards other species, and had no desire to hurt more people than was necessary to get the job done.

Her feelings differed greatly from the majority of people employed by Cerberus. Most would be more than happy to wipe out every alien they came across; Miranda simply wanted humanity to dominate. But if lives were the cost, Miranda was willing to deal with it.

"I'll pass my report to The Illusive Man."

* * *

John and Liara met Tali and Garrus outside of the entrance to Port Hanshan's garage. As they approached, John flashed a garage pass.

"You got it?" Tali asked.

"I had to argue with security a bit," replied John. "They wanted to call Anoleis to confirm."

"I'm sorry, but there was no way for me to create the pass from the office we were in."

John shook his head. "You did a good job, Tali. Thanks."

"I'm just glad it worked out. Now we can finally get to Benezia."

"I managed to get a map of the mountains," Liara said, bringing up an image on her omni-tool. "It will be quite a drive to Peak Fifteen."

"Well, we better get started then," said John. "Before we run out of time and it gets dark, or Anoleis notices something is up."

Leading the way, John approached the guard standing outside the doorway leading to the garage.

"Access to the garage is restricted," said the guard. "I'll need to see a pass."

"They're with me," John said, motioning to his squad as he handed the guard his pass.

"Where are you headed?"

"Sorry, that's classified. I'm Shepard, a Spectre from the Citadel."

The guard frowned. "Does Anoleis know you're leaving the port?"

"He verified the garage pass. Look, I really need to get going. Are all these questions really necessary?"

"That's all I needed to ask you. Have a safe drive; there's a storm coming in soon."

The door opened to reveal several Mako-like vehicles lined up against the wall. They were similar in size and shape, but there was one major difference: there were no turrets.

Garrus strode over to the closest vehicle. "What the hell!"

"What's the matter?" asked Liara.

"They took off the gun!" Garrus exclaimed. "That's just wrong."

"Just get in," John ordered. "We have to hurry."

Just as they were about to pull out of the garage, Anoleis came running in, waving a pistol in the air. "Stop!"

John glanced over his shoulder as Anoleis approached, more annoyed than worried. "We're going whether you like it or not."

"Not an option. I'll have every guard out to hunt you down."

"We know all about the bribes you've been taking. I could just let that little piece of information slip out…"

"Bribes? Preposterous. I don't know what you are talking about."

"We found the file on your computer. I sent a copy back to the Normandy just in case."

Anoleis paled. "Go then. But a blizzard is coming. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Holstering his gun, John climbed into the Mako and closed the door. Garrus had claimed the driver's seat after he had found out he wouldn't be manning the turret, and Liara was in the passenger seat, so John sat in the back with Tali.

"Anoleis is letting us go?" Tali asked.

John nodded. "I threatened him with the bribes. Good thing you grabbed that file."

"I thought it might come in handy."

The Mako's engines roared to life, and Garrus put it in gear. "Okay, let's get out of here."

John leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes as Garrus drove towards their destination. Even if he stopped Benezia, Saren would continue. The geth would continue. Fate had decided that the responsibility fell to him to stop Saren and end his campaign of destruction. He didn't know how he would do it, but he was going to fight. He would die before he saw Saren destroy everything he cared for in the galaxy.

The gentle thrum of the Mako's engine was calming, but John prevented himself from falling asleep. Forcing his eyes open, he sat up and proceeded to check his weapons.

"About halfway there," John heard Liara say from the front of the Mako. "…gets steep up ahead."

John's omni-tool chimed twice, indicating an incoming transmission from the Normandy. Answering the call, John was greeted by Joker's voice.

"Commander, do you read?" said Joker. His voice was heavily distorted.

"Barely," John replied. "What's the situation?"

"You've got-heading-"

"Say again Joker, I didn't hear that."

"Blizzard coming in from the mountains-going to lose comms-"

"How long do we have? We're about halfway to Peak Fifteen. We can wait out the storm there."

When John heard no response, he repeated his question.

"Sounds like we already lost him," said Garrus. "That could be bad news for us."

"Why can't we wait out the storm in the Mako?" Tali asked.

"The blizzards here can last for days," replied Liara. "By the time it stops snowing, we could be buried alive."

Tali began nervously wringing her hands. She had always imagined she would die from either a bullet or old age. The thought of being buried alive and running out of oxygen was new and disturbing. As she tracked their progress on her omni-tool, Tali willed Garrus to drive faster.

"How close are we?" John asked.

"Ten, twenty minutes out at least," said Garrus. "If the snow gets heavier it could take longer."

"Then it's out of our hands."

The remainder of the trip was made in silence. The snowfall grew heavier as they approached the research station, but Garrus pulled up to Peak Fifteen's entrance without incident.

"It doesn't look that bad," Garrus commented as they walked towards the research facility's door.

"Looks like it might be a mild storm," Liara agreed. "Maybe Anoleis was lying to keep us in Port Hanshan."

"I wouldn't put it past him," John muttered as the door slid open.

The door sealed itself behind them as they entered the Peak Fifteen research facility. The warmth was welcoming as John removed his breather helmet.

Garrus sounded disappointed as he asked, "Where's our welcoming committee?"

"Good question," John replied, unholstering his rifle. "I imagine Anoleis has told Benezia that we're coming by now."

"It is probably worse that we don't see any geth," Liara said as she began moving further into the building. "They could be setting up an ambush."

"Keep your guard up and your weapons ready," said John, following Liara.

Approaching a large garage door, Liara waited for John's nod before activating the controls. As the door slid open, Tali noticed movement at the far end of the garage.

"Movement," Tali whispered. "Something-"

Tali was cut off as a krogan suddenly came charging through the door. Slamming into John, the krogan threw him backwards and pinned him against the wall. Garrus and Tali immediately opened fire, while Liara used her biotics and pulled the krogan away.

Roaring a battle cry, the krogan turned and charged towards Liara. Her shields absorbed the shotgun blast and she managed to dodge one of his swings, but a vicious uppercut caught her in the chin. As Liara fell to the ground, Garrus jumped onto the krogan's back. Struggling to hang on, he repeatedly plunged his knife into the back of the krogan's neck.

The krogan gave one final snarl as the life left his eyes. Garrus jumped to the ground as he swayed and then fell lifelessly towards the ground.

Rushing over to Liara, who was lying still on the ground, Garrus checked her vitals. She was breathing, which was a good sign, but the true extent of her injuries wouldn't be apparent until she woke.

"How is she?" Tali asked.

"She's breathing," Garrus replied. "Her jaw might be broken, and she's going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up. Maybe a concussion."

John struggled to his feet, using the wall for support. He grunted in pain when he tried to put weight on his right leg.

"Are you okay?" Tali asked with concern, glancing towards him.

"I'll be okay," John assured her. "Might be a fracture, but some medigel should dull the pain enough for now."

John doubted his own reassuring words. Medigel might be able to take the edge off, but if his injury was as serious as he feared, he wouldn't be able to fight. To make matters worse, Liara was out cold. The way things were looking, they might have to abort the mission.

"Heads up!" Garrus shouted, interrupting John's thoughts. "Geth!"

Tali grabbed her shotgun and immediately began firing, providing covering fire for Garrus, who was carrying the still unconscious Liara to safety. Gritting his teeth, John moved along the wall and found cover.

"Shepard, we have a geth destroyer incoming!" Tali shouted.

John peered around the corner through the doorway, and immediately pulled his head back. The destroyer was on the far side of the room, but was closing the distance to the door fast.

Grabbing a grenade, John primed it and threw it through the doorway. It bounced twice and exploded violently, starting a chain reaction with a two pressurized canisters nearby. The destroyer had no time to react to the danger before it was blown apart.

Tali, who had moved into cover on the opposite side of the large door, looked around the corner. The large explosion caused by John's grenade had taken out the destroyer and two other geth units, leaving black scorch marks on the ground. However, more geth had noticed their fallen comrades, and were beginning to converge on John and Tali's location.

Realizing they were fighting a battle they couldn't win, John shouted, "Tali, we need this door shut, now!"

Tali immediately went to work on her omni-tool while John attempted to hold off the geth. She smirked at the geth's attempt to force the door to stay open. Truthfully, the geth could beat her at any hacking job, but the entire Peak Fifteen research facility was designed with security in mind; it was much easier to close the door and seal it than to keep it open.

While Tali worked on the door, John focused on another destroyer that was lumbering towards them. It vaulted over a crate, determined to reach them before Tali could seal the door.

"Almost got it," announced Tali. "Just a little longer…"

Realizing it wouldn't reach the door before Tali managed to close it, the destroyer made a quick decision and stopped moving entirely. John cursed and pulled himself back into cover as the destroyer opened fire with deadly accuracy.

"Tali, we need that door sealed!" John shouted.

"Done," Tali replied, as the door began to shut.

Garrus, who had rejoined the fight, lobbed a grenade under the door just before it closed. He was rewarded with the geth's equivalent of a cry of alarm and a muffled bang.

Now that the danger had passed, the adrenaline's effects began to wear off, and John felt pain creeping back into his leg. As he fell against the wall, Tali hurried over to support him.

"How long until they can get through that door?" asked John, as they limped towards the other room where Liara was laying.

"I'm not sure," Tali replied. "The facility was designed with security in mind, so we have some time."

As they entered the room, John was surprised to see that Liara had woken. She was propped up against the wall, holding her jaw with her hand.

"How are you feeling, Liara?" John asked.

"I used some medigel to help the pain," Liara replied. "But I think my jaw is broken."

John clenched his teeth in pain as he lowered himself to the ground; the krogan had definitely done some damage.

"We can't keep going like this, Shepard," said Garrus.

"I know," John replied, as he began to remove the armour pieces covering the injury on his leg. "But we have to stop Benezia, too."

Tali winced when she saw John's uncovered leg. The majority of the flesh from his knee to his upper thigh was discoloured, indicating a serious injury under the skin.

"Damn," John swore. "Looks like another fracture."

John tenderly spread some medigel across the wound, taking care to avoid pressing too hard on his skin. Although the thick gel was mainly designed to seal open wounds, it contained a strong anaesthetic, so he applied it anyway.

"That's not going to fix it," Garrus commented. "At best, you'll be able to walk with a limp."

"I know," John replied, as he covered the wound and began reattaching his armour. "Once the storm clears, I'll contact the Normandy and get the rest of the team down here. Just pray the geth don't get through that door before then."

"I'll try the transmitter in the Mako right now," said Tali. "We don't have _that _much time."

As Tali hurried towards the door, Garrus unholstered his rifle.

* * *

Rael supervised as supplies were loaded into the small ship. Designed for speed and maneuverability, this was the ship that Rael intended to take on the reconnaissance mission. While it lacked firepower, the ship was capable of outrunning many of the geth ships, or at least the older designs that the quarians were familiar with.

"All the supplies have made it aboard, Admiral," said Jaro, who was to be the second in command on the mission. "Is there anything else you needed me to do?"

"Hmm?" said Rael, lost in thought. "Oh, good. Thank you Jaro, that will be all."

Jaro was slightly concerned with Rael's absentmindedness, but made no comment as he saluted and returned to his usual duties.

Rael smiled slightly to himself as he walked through the open airlock and into the ship. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit excited; they hadn't had contact with the geth in years. In his mind, they were getting closer to reclaiming Rannoch and returning to their rightful home than ever before.

Still, precautions had to be taken. The quarians had little idea how much the geth had evolved since they disappeared behind the Perseus Veil centuries ago, and Rael was no fool. He would not allow his or his crew's excitement to endanger them.

After checking that everything actually had made it aboard, Rael exited the ship and sealed the airlock. The ship would remained sealed until the mission the next morning to reduce the likelihood of contaminants finding their way into the ship's environment.

Rael walked with a spring in his step as he made his way towards his quarters. Just a few more hours.

* * *

Garrus greeted Kaiden, Ashley, and Wrex at the door as they arrived. They had departed immediately after Tali contacted the Normandy, but it had still taken them over two hours to arrive at Peak Fifteen.

"You're late," Garrus commented as they walked through the door.

"We got held up in Port Hanshan," Kaiden replied. "If it wasn't for Wrex's bargaining, we'd still be there."

Wrex chuckled. "There might be some forms for you to sign when we get back, Shepard."

John grinned, and Tali helped him struggle to his feet. "You didn't hurt Anoleis _too_ badly, did you?"

"No, but he might get diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder," said Ashley. "Luckily, we'll be long gone by then."

"Okay, here's the situation," John said, getting down to business. "I can hardly walk, and Liara's jaw is broken. On the other side of that door, there is a whole army of geth, and maybe some krogan who are in league with Saren."

"And somewhere beyond all that, Benezia is hiding," said Kaiden, thinking aloud.

John nodded. "Whatever she's doing here, it's helping Saren in some way. She has to be stopped."

"Shepard, you can't lead an assault against an army of geth if you can't even walk."

"Exactly. Liara and I are going to follow behind while you clear out the geth. This might be our only chance to talk to Benezia."

Suddenly, a loud bang emanated from the other room. Pumping his shotgun, Wrex ran around the corner, expecting to be greeted by geth, but found nothing out of place.

"What was that?" John asked Tali, who had brought up her omni-tool.

"I'm not sure," Tali replied, running diagnostics on the security systems. "They might be trying to break the seal on the door."

John and Kaiden exchanged glances, understanding each other without words. The look Kaiden saw in John's eyes told him how dire the situation really was.

"All right everyone, get going!" Kaiden shouted. "Defensive positions."

As everyone except John and Liara started moving into the other room, John grabbed Garrus' arm.

"Will you do something for me, Garrus?" John asked.

"Of course, Shepard," Garrus replied, turning to face him.

"Take care of her."

Garrus knew who John meant. Tali was the youngest member of the team; by quarian standards, she was not even considered an adult. Garrus understood that John felt obligated to ensure her safety, but he knew it was more than that. He had seen the way John looked at her, and even if John wasn't ready to admit it to himself, he knew that John cared for her.

Garrus nodded. "I will, Shepard, and I won't let you down."

"Thank you. Be careful out there."

In the background, both men heard gunfire as organic clashed with machine. Without another word, Garrus turned and ran into the fray.

* * *

"Everything checks out," Jaro announced. "We're cleared to depart."

Rael contained his excitement as he looked around the bridge. All of them had waited for a chance like this for a very long time. For the first time since the Morning War, they were taking a small step towards reclaiming Rannoch.

Despite the Admiralty Board's best efforts at keeping the mission quiet, word had gotten out and spread through the Migrant Fleet like wildfire. Throughout the ships in the flotilla, millions of quarians talked excitedly in hushed tones.

Rael checked the time on his omni-tool and instructed Ferra, the pilot, to begin departing procedures. By the time she finished, it would nearly be time.

Shala, Han, and Zaal watched via their omni-tools as the airlock sealed and the ship's engines began to start. As the magnetic clamps holding the smaller ship to the Rayya released, each murmured, "Keelah Se'lai."

Daro too watched the ship departing, but offered no prayer to Rael or the crew. Her gaze on the screen was intense; she seemed deep in thought, calculating her next move. Events were moving more quickly than she had anticipated, and her plans needed to be adjusted. She would need to get very close to Rael when he returned.

Rael's omni-tool beeped once, cutting through the silence that had fallen over the cockpit. Closing his eyes, Rael tried to commit every single detail of the moment to his memory. He wanted to remember this moment clearly, the moment when the quarian people began the campaign to take back what was rightfully theirs.

Opening his eyes, Rael said, "Go."

Ferra immediately gave the engines power, and they began pushing the ship away from the Rayya. As the small ship left the Migrant Fleet behind and began making its way towards the system's mass relay, cheering broke out across the bridge.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, back to school! I'm in my first year of University now, so updates on this story might be a bit slower than usual, though I'll try my best to continue writing a new chapter every week or so. Thanks for reading guys. :)


	14. Chapter 12: Confession

**Chapter 12: Confession**

Despite the heavy influence of the indoctrination on her mind, Shiala managed to scream as the Thorian's prison enveloped her. Saren was standing nearby, watching her with his cold, calculating eyes. He seemed almost amused by her feeble cry for help, but said nothing as the plant curled itself around her, covering every inch of her body except for her head. Shiala could do nothing except watch as Saren turned to face the Thorian.

After a time, Shiala felt something on the edge of her consciousness. At first it was a gentle prodding, as if the plant was evaluating her, determining the best method of attack. She prepared to fight back, but could feel the indoctrination begin to take hold once again.

She gasped suddenly as the Thorian assaulted her mind without warning. It wormed its way into her head, brushing aside her thoughts as if they were nothing but a distraction. Assuming control over her body, the Thorian began to speak through Shiala.

"_Make your purpose known,"_ said the Thorian.

"I seek something," Saren replied, turning back to look at Shiala. "Knowledge of a race that has since been destroyed by the Reapers."

"_Why should the Thorian aid you?"_

Saren took a moment to consider his response. "Because I destroyed those who sought to use you for their own purposes, to control you. And, because I have something to trade."

When the Thorian didn't speak, Saren continued, "I need the Cipher, the essence of the Prothean's culture."

Shiala felt herself frown; the Thorian was indicating to Saren that it was considering his request. _"And in return?"_

"In return I will leave the asari with you. Do with her what you wish."

Shiala felt a smile creep across her face, and suddenly a stream of memories was being pushed into her head. The amount of information that she absorbed was incalculable, the memories representing the entirety of the Prothean's culture. She learned everything the Thorian knew about the Protheans; when the transfer was completed, she felt as if she had lived in the Prothean Empire herself.

"_Come closer,"_ said the Thorian. _"Absorb the Cipher for yourself."_

Saren approached Shiala without hesitation and leaned in close, eager to complete his task.

"_Embrace eternity."_

Saren gasped as the rush of information slammed into his consciousness. The experience was comparable to when he had activated the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime, but the pain was incredibly more intense. The Thorian did not slow down as Saren dropped to his knees, thrusting memory after memory into his skull.

And then it was over, and Saren slowly opened his eyes. He was confused; the beacon's message was still unclear, and the Thorian's memories were hazy in his mind, like half-remembered dreams. Before he could speak, however, he heard Sovereign's voice.

"Patience, it will take time for the Cipher to take hold," said Sovereign. "Return; you have obtained what was needed."

Saren obeyed, rising to his feet. "Thank you," he said to the Thorian.

The plant responded by covering Shiala's face, sealing her fate. Inside her head Shiala screamed, but the Thorian ignored her.

* * *

Liara strained her ears, but heard nothing. The sounds of battle had finally diminished, leaving Peak Fifteen in an eerie silence. While she was glad the fighting had come to an end, she was also worried. Which side had won the battle?

"Is it over?" Liara asked, glancing at John.

"I hope so," John replied. He checked his omni-tool for any word from Kaiden, but found nothing.

Noticing the frown on his face, Liara said, "I'm sure they are fine, Shepard. They are all good soldiers."

John scowled at Liara's statement, though he wasn't angry at her; he was angry at himself. Tali was no soldier. Hell, she wasn't even old enough to vote by her people's standards, but he had brought her along anyway. She should be out on her Pilgrimage, not fighting geth in some bunker.

He told himself that he wished she hadn't joined the Normandy, but he knew it wasn't true. He enjoyed her company, and besides, she had insisted that he bring her along. He would even go as far as to call her one of his friends, which had become a prestigious title in recent months; he had not opened up to many people since Elysium.

Truthfully, Tali held a special place in John's heart. It was not a crush per se, but he cared about her. If anyone or anything hurt her, there would be hell to pay.

Suddenly John's omni-tool chimed. The normally irritating noise calmed him when he heard it, letting him know that at least someone was still alive.

Answering the call, John said, "Status report."

"We're all good over here, Shepard," came Garrus' voice. "The geth put up a hell of a fight, though."

John let out an audible sigh of relief, and he heard Garrus chuckle. "We'll start heading in your direction, then."

"Kaiden is sending our location to your omni-tool now. Oh, and Shepard?"

"Yeah?" John replied as he struggled to his feet.

"She did just fine."

John was silent for a moment. "Thank you, Garrus."

"Any time, Shepard," Garrus said as he terminated the connection.

Liara was slightly jealous of John's friendship with Garrus, though she did her best to push the thoughts from her mind. The two had gotten along almost immediately, cracking jokes at each other's expense, despite their different views on how 'the job' should get done. And now - judging by the conversation she just heard - John had trusted him with more personal information.

The fact that there was _something_ between John and Tali was not news to Liara, though she made a point of keeping her observations to herself; telling either John or Tali would be counterproductive to her own goals.

Her own goals? Liara snorted to herself. _That's a nice way of putting it._

Liara stole a glance at John; there was no doubt the man was attractive. However, she couldn't picture herself seriously pursuing a relationship with him. He was a hardened soldier; his life would be spent running from one corner of the galaxy to another, fighting whatever battles the Alliance decided needed to be fought.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Liara moved over to John and supported some of his weight as he stood. The medigel had helped, but he still didn't trust his leg to enough to try walking on his own.

While thinking of John's injuries, Liara's jaw again began to throb, reminding her that she too had sustained some damage. Lightly rubbing where it hurt, she was greeted by pain that made her stagger. Yes, it was definitely broken.

"You all right?" John asked, startled by the jolt that had gone through her body.

Liara grimaced and nodded, pointing to her jaw.

John smiled slightly in sympathy. "If you want, I can get you back to the Normandy. You don't have to be here, you know."

"No, this is something I have to do," said Liara, forcing herself to speak through the pain. "I have to understand."

"Okay, we better get moving then. Benezia might find out we're coming."

As they slowly hobbled through the research facility, Kaiden's voice came over John's omni-tool. "Shepard?"

"Yeah?" John replied. The pain he was experiencing was evident in his voice, though he did his best to mask it.

"There is a tram that runs between this building and another. The VI was offline but Tali managed to get it back up and running."

"You think Benezia took the tram?"

"The VI logged it. Shortly after that, the power went out. Benezia probably left the geth to shut down the power and make sure no one else could chase after her."

"Well, I'm glad we have a quarian with us."

Kaiden laughed. "Yeah, she acted like the whole thing was routine. I guess it's no wonder most of their ships still haven't fallen apart."

As John and Liara walked through a security checkpoint, Liara gave a set of turrets an inquisitive look. "That's odd… the turrets are facing the wrong way."

It didn't take long for John to realize what purpose the turrets served. "They're as worried about keeping their people in as they are about keeping others out."

"That's horrible. I wonder what kind of research goes on here that needs this much security."

After a short elevator ride, John and Liara exited through a door and were greeted by the freezing cold. Ice had frozen over nearly every surface, though there were no visible breaks in the walls or ceiling. After noticing some air vents on the walls, John came to the realization that the cold air was being let in on purpose.

"Damn it's cold," said John. "Did we take a wrong turn?"

"No, we went through there," Kaiden replied. "Take a look at those alien corpses on the ground. I have never seen anything like them."

John knew what Kaiden was referring to as soon as he saw it. The alien was lying still on the ground, clearly dead. It almost reminded him of a scorpion, but was large and had tentacles coming from its torso.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" John asked Liara.

"I'm not a biologist," she replied, shrugging. "I've never seen or heard of anything like it."

Activating his omni-tool, John took a scan of the creature. "Maybe someone back on the Citadel will be able to tell us."

Liara nodded. "I know some people we could ask on Thessia, too."

"I wonder if this is what they were researching here," John muttered. "A new alien species, maybe?"

"I can't see anything good coming from that. But if they were going to do it somewhere, this is where they'd do it. Noveria has a reputation for allowing controversial research."

"This must be why they started letting in the cold air. Experiment gone wrong, so they tried to kill everything with the natural environment?"

"It might have happened automatically when the power went out. A security mechanism for the worst-case scenario."

"Well whatever went on here, those things sure know how to fight," said Kaiden. "And they're all over the place. I think they're crawling through the vents."

Shivering against the cold, John and Liara continued moving. After another series of elevators and security checkpoints, they finally arrived on the train platform. Tali was standing in the tram, scanning the control panel with her omni-tool. Garrus was standing beside her, getting in the way more than he was helping. They both glanced over when John entered the room.

Grunting in pain, John hobbled into the tram and sat down in one of the chairs. All of his pain besides a minor throbbing disappeared when he took the weight off his leg.

Garrus glanced over at John. "How's the leg?"

"I've had worse," John replied. "This is nothing compared to what I got on Elysium."

Liara, who was standing nearby, smiled slightly and shook her head. "Doctor Chakwas is right, Shepard. You are going to get yourself killed if you keep going like this."

Garrus found that amusing. "Shepard's too good for that, T'Soni. Getting killed would slow him down too much."

John chuckled. "Your confidence in me means a lot, Garrus."

"Of course, Shepard; I read the Elysium report. I just expect you to have the same confidence in me."

Tali laughed quietly in the corner, but said nothing.

Kaiden interrupted the moment by entering the tram. "How's it looking, Tali?"

"I think I've almost got it," Tali replied. "Once I'm done here, the VI should be able to activate the tram for us."

"Good work."

Sitting down beside John, Kaiden looked at his leg. "How much farther are you going to be able to walk on that?" he asked quietly.

"I'll be fine," John replied quickly. "I'll put more medigel on it if I have to."

"Just don't overdo it."

John knew Kaiden was right. If he stressed his leg too much and worsened the fracture, it could take significantly longer to heal, even with the newest technology and Chakwas' expertise. It was better to be out of commission for this mission than for the next two weeks.

"I think I've got it," Tali said triumphantly. "The geth removed one of the circuit boards."

"Good job, Tali," said Garrus. "See what we can accomplish when we work as a team?"

Tali muttered a barely audible, "Bosh'tet," and then said, "Okay, it's fixed."

"Good," John replied. "Time to pay Benezia a visit."

* * *

Tali stole a glance at John, who was sitting beside Liara and Kaiden on the other side of the tram. He noticed her gaze and smiled slightly. Tali's heart skipped a beat and she quickly looked away. It was impolite, she knew, but he had a way of making her impossibly nervous without much effort.

Deep down, Tali knew exactly why he made her nervous, but she refused to acknowledge the truth. She pushed the idea to the back of her mind. It stayed there, like a predator waiting to pounce, creeping into her thoughts whenever she let her guard down.

The worst part of it all, thought Tali, was that the feelings she had for her commander would never be reciprocated. He would never, could never feel the same way about her. She was a _quarian_. After their mission together was over, she would return to the Migrant Fleet, and that would be that. Furthermore, she was on her Pilgrimage - he probably thought of her like a child.

Tali knew it was wrong for her to feel this way about John, but she felt helpless to do anything about it. She had considered leaving the Normandy - it would be the appropriate thing to do, by quarian standards - but she couldn't make herself do it. Chasing down Saren was part of the reason, of course, but it went deeper than that: Tali wanted to be on the Normandy with John.

As this realization hit her, Tali began to blush furiously, and for once she was thankful that she was forced to wear an environmental suit; her helmet's visor conveniently hid the lighter shade of violet that was spreading across her face.

John noticed Tali's nervousness but said nothing; it was not new. She had been like this since her first day on the Normandy. Still, she had appeared to be relaxing in recent days, at least around Garrus and himself. John made a mental note to talk to her later on, when the entire squad wasn't within earshot.

Garrus noticed the silent exchange between the two and chuckled quietly to himself. John, of course, was oblivious to the clear signs Tali was displaying. He would have to coach his human friend in the ways of women.

"Attention," said Mira, Peak Fifteen's VI. "The tram will be arriving at Rift Station within two minutes."

Tali unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. The ride, short as it was, had been awkward enough to last a lifetime. Although the chances were high that she would get shot at as soon as she exited the tram, anything was better than this.

The tram slowed to a halt as it glided into the station. John was the first to exit, supported by Garrus. The rest of Shepard's crew followed closely, rifles raised, waiting for any signs of trouble. After checking that the room was clear, the squad gathered around John to hear his orders. He was half-shouting so that everyone could hear him.

"Garrus and Tali are with me and Liara," said John. "Now that we're getting closer, we need them to cover us; I can't fight very effectively on this leg. The rest of you will move ahead, but we'll be close behind you."

Wrex chuckled. "Good, stay behind. More for me to kill."

Despite Wrex's enthusiasm, Kaiden was concerned by John's decision. If Benezia really was in Rift Station, they could be facing a lot more geth, not to mention the asari commandos. Wrex fought with the strength of three men, but even then he was skeptical that he, Ashley, and Wrex could push ahead alone.

Kaiden's voice was quiet as he spoke; he didn't like questioning John's judgement. "Commander, I don't know if we can take on the asari commandos and geth on our own. If Benezia is here, there will be even more geth."

"I can fight," said Liara.

"So can I," said Garrus. "Tali can cover you while we move ahead. If we get in a tough spot, then you can come save the day."

Tali glared at Garrus, who had the smallest of grins on his face. Unless John knew about her feelings for him and had told Garrus, which she doubted, the turian had figured it out on his own and was trying to play matchmaker. She made a mental note to get back at him later.

John glanced at Tali. He wanted to talk to her and ask her why she was so nervous. He was about to agree when he noticed the look Garrus was giving him, as if he was missing something. The turian was trying to indicate something by moving his mandibles silently, but the meaning was lost on John; he was not an expert at lip reading turians.

Finally, John said, "Okay, that will work. Tali and I will let you get five minutes ahead and then we'll follow you. If you run into trouble, let me know right away."

Kaiden nodded, visibly more relaxed. "Yes, Commander."

Garrus gave John one last meaningful glance as he followed Kaiden out the door, and then they were left in silence. As soon as the door shut John dropped the masquerade and grunted in pain, and sat in a nearby chair on the platform's waiting area. He motioned for Tali to come sit.

Tali nervously lowered herself into a seat across from John. She studied his face, trying to uncover any hint of what he was thinking, but could not discern the human's thoughts.

John was silent for a moment, both because he enjoyed the serenity and because he couldn't think of what to say. The girl - woman, John corrected himself - sitting across from him was different from anyone else he had met, and he didn't want to say anything to offend her.

As these thoughts raced through John's mind, small flickers of emotion were visible on his face. Tali studied these closely, trying to put them together and come up with a complete thought, like a puzzle. Her heart was beating fast in her chest - how much did he know? Oh Keelah, how much did he know? Was he going to scold her and send her back to the flotilla? Or was he going to say he cared for her too? Then she would have to push him away, because she would have to finish her Pilgrimage, and she was a _quarian__,_ and-

"Tali," John said finally, interrupting her thoughts. "What's wrong?"

The question surprised Tali; it had not been what she was expecting. "What do you mean, Commander? I'm fine."

John raised an eyebrow; her own voice gave away that she was lying. "You listened to me when I needed someone to talk to. Now I'm here to listen to anything you have to say."

Tali brought her hands together out of habit, but forced herself to let them rest in her lap; she did not want to seem even more nervous. "Really Commander, I'm okay. I'm just a little worried about Liara."

John was quiet for a moment. "You know you can trust me, right?"

This caused Tali to glance up at him. She met his gaze, and his eyes seemed to bore into her visor. It felt as if he could see right through the opaque material that separated them, revealing her for who she really was. She couldn't have looked away even if she had wanted to.

"I know, Shepard," Tali replied, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "It's just… I can't."

She looked away, ashamed to meet his gaze. She could almost hear her father scolding her, and she laughed a short, mirthless laugh. "If my father could see me now, he'd call me a coward."

"Tali, just tell me what's going on," John said gently. "Why would he call you a coward?"

"I gave it time, hoping it was a feeling that would pass," Tali continued. "But it's not going to pass.

"Quarians are in their suits for their entire lives, even among family. The most intimate thing we can do with another quarian is link our suit environments. We get sick at first, and then we adapt. It's our most important gesture of trust, of acceptance. I haven't trusted anyone enough for that, though. Except… well, no quarians. Um, you know what I mean."

John smiled. "I appreciate the thought, Tali, and I trust you too. But you don't need to prove anything to me. Is this what you were worrying about?"

Tali shook her head slowly. "The tradition also signifies a willingness for, um, intimacy."

John's eyes widened as the implications of Tali's statement set in. He broke her gaze for a moment, looking at the ground. Different emotions clashed in his mind as he asked himself one seemingly simple question: did he love this woman? It was true he felt protective towards her, but where did that feeling come from?

The struggle within continued as he looked up at her, as if seeing her would somehow make everything clear. She stared back, noticing the battle raging behind his eyes.

As John stood, "Shepard…" was all Tali managed to get out, her voice full of emotion.

Instead of walking away like Tali had feared, however, he crossed the space between them and slowly sat beside her. Looking over, John noticed that her hands were trembling. Taking one of her small hands in his own, he began slowly caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

Tali was relieved and horrified at the same time. He hadn't pushed her away, hadn't scolded her. Without saying a word he had conveyed that he cared for her too, but now she would have to push him away.

"Shepard, this is wrong," Tali said, gently extricating her hand from his. "I shouldn't have said anything. Keelah, I'm such a bosh'tet."

"It's okay, Tali," John replied.

"No, it's not okay. Not at all."

John looked into her eyes, which were now just inches from his own. "Why not?"

"Because you're the first human Spectre, and I'm a quarian, and-"

"Hold on," said John, interrupting her. "What's wrong with you being a quarian?"

"Can you imagine what people's reactions would be if they found out the human Spectre was dating an alien? If I was an asari maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but a quarian? We're hated by the galaxy for creating the geth, and now there are armies of geth ready to follow Saren's orders. It just wouldn't look good."

John snorted, and a small smile played across his lips. "You think I care what anyone else thinks? If I did, I never would have accepted the Council's offer."

"It's not just that… I'm going to have to return to the flotilla, I have to complete my Pilgrimage."

"It can't be that uncommon for a quarian to have a relationship with another race. What do the others do?"

"Well, it's uncommon for the relationship to last long enough for bonding, but not unheard of. Some of us go out on our Pilgrimages and never return; sometimes I wondered if they ran off somewhere with a lover. But most return to the flotilla and complete their Pilgrimage before leaving; that way their name is not ruined, because they still made their contribution to society.

"But my father needs me, Shepard, more than he'd ever admit. I know that he loves me even though he doesn't show it, and if I left he would be devastated."

John gave her a look of mock indignation, but his small grin gave him away. "What, you think you can just lead me on like that and then push me away?" Then, more gently, "Tali, if you truly want this, everything will find a way of working itself out."

"I do want this, Shepard," said Tali. She began wringing her hands, as she always did when she was nervous.

Suddenly Kaiden's voice came over the comm-channel. "Commander, where are you? We found a group of guards that have managed to hold out."

Activating the mic on his omni-tool, John replied, "We're on our way. Are you waiting there for us?"

"Yeah. We're in the crew quarters, just down the hallway and up the elevator."

"We'll be there right away."

John stood as he terminated the connection, and offered Tali his hand.

She accepted it.

* * *

**A/N: **This is really late, I know, but I have two excuses.

After finishing the chapter, I read and re-read it, trying to decide if I liked how the chapter was written and how the story overall was playing out. Originally I had planned that John and Tali would not reveal their feelings for each other until later in the plot. However, eventually I decided to write the chapter this way, and I think it turned out better. Please, feel free to write a review with your thoughts; I value all of your opinions.

Second, it was my birthday last week. :)

Anyway, better late than never, right?


	15. Chapter 13: The Hot Labs

**Chapter 13: The Hot Labs**

The guards under Captain Ventralis' command snapped to attention as John and Tali entered Rift Station's crew quarters. The group of soldiers aimed their rifles but did not fire; Tali quickly raised her shotgun in response.

"Stand down!" Ventralis barked to his soldiers.

The soldiers seemed relieved to lower their weapons. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were exhausted, tired of fighting. Some carried only sidearms, and there was one man who was leaning against the wall for support.

"Sorry," said Ventralis. "The aliens have been throwing themselves against our defenses every couple of hours. We couldn't be sure if you were friendly."

"Where are my men?" John asked. Tali noticed that his hand was in position to grab his rifle. "They said they would be waiting here."

"They went to take the asari to see the doctor. She had a nasty jaw injury."

"We need to go see them," said John.

"Sure, but let me ask you something first. Your friends refused to tell me why they were here. Said you'd have answers for me. Mind telling me who you are?"

"My name is Shepard. I'm a Spectre."

Ventralis frowned slightly, deciding whether or not to believe John's story. Eventually his expression lightened. "Well, I'm glad you're here. Lady Benezia came to deal with the problem yesterday, but we haven't seen her since. We could use the help."

John seemed to relax somewhat, and he gave Tali a small nod. She lowered her weapon and breathed a quiet sigh of relief as most of the tension in the room dissipated.

"By 'the problem,' you mean the aliens," said John.

"Yeah," Ventralis replied. "They overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore."

"How did this even happen?" Tali asked. "Wouldn't you have safeguards in place if you were performing such dangerous experiments?"

"The safeguards must have failed. The environmental controls for the labs are supposed to shut down after any sort of breach."

"Let the natural environment kill them?"

"Exactly. But no alarm went off. The first we knew about it, the bastards were clawing their way into my command post. We had a lot more staff then."

"Someone must have disabled the alarm," muttered John.

"Or _something_," Ventralis replied. "Those aliens are smart. I caught one of them trying to access the terminal in my office before I shot it."

John was silent for a moment. "This asari Matriarch, where did she go?"

"Down to the hot labs. She hasn't responded to any of our attempts to contact her, so I don't know if she is still alive…"

"I need to go find her. How can I get down to the hot labs?"

"There's an elevator out by the trams," said Ventralis, handing John an access card. "This card will let you through the door. Just make sure you seal it behind you."

John accepted the card and tucked it into a pocket in his combat armour. "Where's the doctor?"

Ventralis pointed to a door behind him. "Dr. Cohen is just down there, in the med bay."

John shook Ventralis' hand. "Thanks."

"Be careful out there."

Moving past the captain, John and Tali entered the doorway he had indicated. Only once the door had closed behind them did Tali truly relax.

"I have a bad feeling about Captain Ventralis," Tali muttered. "It seemed like he was hiding something. Maybe he's working for Benezia."

John grunted in response. "He is, but if she had told him about us, they would have shot us already."

After climbing a short flight of stairs and going through another door, Tali and John arrived in a large room that appeared to be used for storage under normal circumstances. Today, however, the room was filled with scientists from the research station who were seeking refuge from the attack. They stood in groups, warily watching the ventilation grates. In one corner, there was a small pool of blood.

Noticing a stairwell leading down on the other side of the room, John began moving through the crowd. Wrex and Ashley were standing on either side of the stairs, surveying the room with watchful eyes. Ashley smiled when John approached.

"What took you so long, Commander?" Ashley asked. "We thought you might be in trouble."

"Just walking slowly," John replied. "Are the others downstairs?"

Ashley nodded. "The doctor is taking a look at Liara."

"How bad is it?"

"She'll be all right. The painkillers should help her for now, and Doctor Chakwas can take a good look at her when we get back to the Normandy."

"Good. Get geared up, we'll be moving out soon."

As John and Tali began moving down the stairs, Tali murmured, "Shepard, you're in no state to go fighting asari commandos. You should stay here."

"Not worrying about me, are you Tali?"

"Well, no, I-"

John chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. "I'll let the doc take a look at it."

"Bosh'tet."

Kaiden and Garrus turned as Tali and John limped into the room. Noticing that the tension between the human and the quarian had seemingly disappeared, Garrus smirked.

Doctor Cohen, who had been tending to Liara, glanced up when he heard John enter. "Another injured soldier?"

"His leg," Tali said simply.

Cohen quickly pulled out a chair for John. As he sat, the immediate reduction of pain caused him to sigh contentedly.

"Take off the amour," Cohen ordered, prepping various machines that were stationed around the room.

John gingerly began undoing the straps that attached the armor to his leg. As the armour came off his leg, he winced. The skin was coloured a sickening mixture of deep purple and yellow; even more discoloured than before.

Cohen began scanning John's leg with his omni-tool, and put the results up on a monitor. "Looks like just a minor fracture. You're lucky; you could have made it a lot worse by walking around like that."

"Can you give me anything for the pain? I'm not done here."

Cohen looked at him incredulously. "You need to lie down and rest the leg while it heals. Running around will just make it worse."

"I don't have a choice."

Cohen glared at him, and then sighed. Rummaging through a drawer, he pulled out a bottle of powerful anesthetic. "This will dull the pain, but that's not always a good thing. You won't know if you're making the injury worse."

When John didn't back down, Cohen shrugged and gave him the injection. Almost immediately John felt his leg begin to numb from his hip to his knee. Turning away from John, Cohen returned to working on Liara.

"How is she?" John asked.

"Can't be sure," Cohen replied, typing into a terminal. "I put her out to do some neural scans. So far, everything looks normal, but I'm not an expert on asari physiology."

"The doctor aboard my ship is knowledgeable about asari. If it's safe to move her, we should get her back there."

"That would be best. I'm waking her up now."

Liara slowly woke, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. Everything was too bright and too loud. As her vision came into focus, she saw John looking down at her.

"How are you feeling?" John asked.

"Not the best," Liara replied, smiling weakly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she has a concussion," said Cohen. "You should get her back to your ship right away."

"I'm fine," said Liara, swinging her feet over the side of the medical bed.

"Are you sure?" John asked with concern.

Liara nodded. "Just give me something for my headache."

Cohen shook his head again, and handed Liara a small pill. "Just take it easy. If you feel strange at all…"

Liara smiled again, this time more convincingly. "I will be fine. Thank you, Doctor Cohen."

John helped Liara onto her feet. She wobbled momentarily, and then regained her balance. She stretched, checked her rifle, and then followed the others up the stairs.

Liara felt John's eyes watching her as they walked towards the elevators. He noticed her lack of balance, and how her reflexes had slowed. It didn't take medical training to tell that she was suffering the effects of her injuries.

"She doesn't look well," Tali murmured, who was walking beside John.

"Yeah," John replied. "But I'm not going to order her back to the Normandy. She deserves to talk to her mother."

"I know. We'll have to keep an eye on her in the fight."

John glanced at Tali. "You're convinced Benezia will try to kill us?"

"She hasn't been afraid to follow Saren this far. From the recording, it sounded like she wanted the Reapers to return as much as he does. I don't think the sight of her daughter will change that."

John sighed; the same thoughts had been plaguing him all day. "I wonder what drove Benezia to follow him? Saren might just be insane, but why would an asari matriarch, with centuries of wisdom, want to bring back an alien race that wiped out all life in the galaxy?"

"I've been wondering the same thing," said Garrus, who came up from behind them.

John shot Garrus an amused look. "Eavesdropping is a bad habit to get into, Garrus."

As if to give credence to John's statement, Tali chose that moment to unholster her shotgun and extend it.

"Well, I see you two are getting along fine," Garrus smirked. "Did you work things out?"

Tali felt her face begin to flush furiously, and she quickly looked away out of instinct. John, however, had more practice at hiding his emotions. Shrugging, he said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Recognizing there was a line he should not cross, Garrus nodded, a serious look on his face. "All right, I get it. Keep your favorite turian in the dark."

John shook his head and grinned, surprised by the turian's audacity. "Watch yourself Garrus. She has a shotgun."

"Noted," Garrus replied, as he gracefully excused himself.

As he walked away, Tali muttered, "Bosh'tet."

* * *

The access card given to John by Captain Ventralis only gave authorization to access one level of the hot labs. As he pressed the button for level B on the elevator's control panel, John couldn't help but feel they were heading into a trap.

Liara seemed to read John's thoughts, saying, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"At least we'll know for sure whether Ventralis is really taking orders from Benezia," John replied, unholstering his assault rifle.

The elevator door slid open to reveal a surprisingly small room. A man sat in the center of it, holding his leg as if injured. Noticing the intruders, he man reached for a pistol that was lying on the ground beside him. Raising it, he shouted, "Who are you?"

"Put that down," John replied. "My name is Shepard. I'm a Spectre."

The man considered John's words then shrugged, letting the pistol fall to his side. "You would have to be a madman to let them out."

"It looks like they're already out to me."

The man chuckled, and then broke into a fit of coughing. Recovering, he said, "Not even a third of them are out."

Liara shook her head. "What happened here?"

"An experiment," the man rasped. "We found the egg on a derelict Rachni ship. We thought it was dead for sure, but when we brought it into the lab, something remarkable happened."

"It was still alive?"

The man grinned. "Not only that, it was a Rachni _queen_. Binary Helix planned to clone the Rachni to make an army, but when the queen hatched, that wasn't necessary."

"So what the hell happened?" John asked. "Clearly something didn't go to plan."

"The scientists thought that the soldiers would never obey us if the queen was near them, so we separated them. But something we didn't expect happened - they went berserk. I think the queen must influence their development cycle.

"It didn't take long for them to escape. The buggers are a lot smarter than you'd think by looking at them. Once the first few escaped we started locking down the hot labs, but a lot of them had already gotten away."

"Can you communicate with the queen? Ask her to stop the soldiers?"

"We haven't been able to communicate effectively with her. But, look, if we don't get this situation under control right now, they're going to bomb us from orbit."

John rubbed his forehead in frustration. _Another problem to deal with._ "What can I do?"

"I am thinking we have to activate the neutron purge. It will wipe out everything in the hot labs."

"Tell me how."

"Activate one of Mira's consoles and give her the code. I would have done it myself, but the Rachni got my leg. I wouldn't make it out in time."

John glanced down at the large, ruby red stain that was slowly spreading across the man's pant leg. "Okay, give me the code. Kaiden, take a look at his leg."

The man smiled. "Thank you. The code is-"

It took John a second to realize why the man had stopped mid-sentence. Then he noticed the end of the Rachni's claw protruding from his chest, and gurgling sound he was making.

Jumping into action, John opened fire at the Rachni soldier, diving sideways to avoid a toxic projectile it spat at him. Before he could throw a grenade, Wrex charged forward and slammed into the Rachni, beating it with the butt of his shotgun.

When the Rachni finally lay still, Tali rushed over to the man. She shook him, trying to wake him, but there was no life in his eyes. Putting a hand on her shoulder, John gently pulled her away.

Kaiden quickly searched the man's omni-tool, and found the access code for the neutron purge. He closed the man's lifeless eyes, and then sent the file to John's omni-tool. "Got it."

John could have sworn he heard claws clicking along the inside of a vent as he began walking towards the only other door in the room. Breaking into a jog, he shouted, "Come on!"

As they began to run, Tali grabbed Liara's hand and pulled her along, ensuring that she wouldn't trip and fall. The Rachni began pouring out of the vent grates just as Liara and Tali reached the door. Once they were safe, John shouted, "Mira, seal the door behind us!"

"Complying," the VI responded.

John threw a grenade through the doorway as it was closing, driving back some of the soldiers, which bought enough time for the door to close and seal.

"Now what?" asked Ashley, lowering her rifle. "There's no way we're getting out of this room alive."

"We have no choice," John replied, moving towards Mira's console. "We activate the purge, and make a run for it."

As John moved towards the console, Liara grabbed his arm. "Please, Commander," she pleaded. "My mother might be alive down here. Please, just let me talk to her."

"I have no choice, Liara," John said sadly, gently pulling his arm away. "The Rachni are going to overrun the station if we don't stop them now."

Tali felt a shiver go down her spine; this was one side of John Shepard she didn't like. Though she could tell he truly was said that Liara's mother would be killed, nothing would stop him from completing the mission. He was a hardened soldier, and was used to doing what had to be done, no matter the cost.

The room was silent as John spoke. "Activate the neutron purge."

"I'm sorry," Mira replied. "I can't do that without the proper code authorization."

"Code input: zero-seven-five, zero-two-zero, eight-seven-nine. Code Omega, local execution."

"Verified. Code Omega execution in two hundred and forty seconds."

As the hologram of Mira disappeared, John said, "Okay, let's go."

Wrex strode quickly towards the door before John could reach it, and blocked it. Frowning, John looked him in the eye, but saw no ill intent in his expression. "What are you doing, Wrex?"

"Let me go out there first, and then run for the elevator," Wrex replied calmly. "Don't look back."

"You don't need to do this," John replied. "We can make it."

"Shepard, there are at least fifty Rachni in that room. If we stay and fight, we will get slaughtered."

"Exactly! You'll never be able to fight them off."

"Of course not, but I will be able to hold them off while you get to the elevator. Krogan may be arrogant, Shepard, but we do have some brains."

"Wrex, I'm not leaving anyone-"

"Damn it, Shepard!" Wrex shouted. "I'm trying to do the right thing here! Let me make up for some of my mistakes and die a warrior's death."

After a moment of silence, John replied by extending his hand. Grinning, Wrex shook it, and hit the button to unseal the door.

"Count to five," Wrex shouted as he ran through the door. And then he was gone.

John watched as the Rachni swarmed over the krogan mercenary. Despite his armour and tough skin, the Rachni's claws easily tore into his flesh.

Realizing it was now or never, John glanced at the rest of his squad, and then turned ran out the door. Tali and Garrus were the first to react, sprinting after John into the fray, firing as they ran. In the corner, Tali saw Wrex shake three soldiers off his back while firing at the other Rachni swarming in front of him, roaring a battle cry all the while.

As soon as everyone had boarded the elevator, John stepped off.

"What are you doing?" Tali yelled over the sounds of battle.

"I don't leave anyone behind," John replied, a hard expression on his face.

Garrus, who was standing beside Tali, caught John's eye and nodded. Stepping off the elevator, he said, "Let's do this, Shepard."

Looking into Tali's eyes, John said, "No matter what, this elevator goes up in thirty seconds."

The only reply Tali could muster was a simple, "Yes, Commander."

"How long do you think we've got before the purge goes off?" Garrus asked calmly.

"A minute," John replied.

"Then we better move fast."

Rushing towards the remaining Rachni soldiers, both men fought their way across the room. Wrex was lying in the corner, unmoving, now ignored by the soldiers that were attacking John and Garrus.

"Get up, Wrex!" John shouted as he kicked a Rachni away from him and shot it. "We don't have all day."

The krogan glanced up at the sound of John's voice. "I told you to let me die."

"We don't leave men behind," said Garrus, who had reached the krogan, and was pulling him to his feet.

Just as John was turning to sprint back towards the elevator, he felt an enormous weight on his back. He slammed into the ground hard, but managed to roll over before his attacker could pin him down, and came face to face with a Rachni soldier. Glancing sideways, he saw that Garrus was being swarmed by four soldiers, and he realized that they had failed.

Before the Rachni could plunge its claw into his neck, however, the soldier was unexplainably lifted off him. Scrambling to his feet, John saw that Liara had stumbled out of the elevator, and was fighting off the Rachni with her biotics. Tali, Ashley, and Kaiden were right behind her, rushing into the room, and helping Garrus and Wrex to their feet.

"I told you to go!" John shouted.

Tali's eyes met his from across the room. "I won't leave you behind," she said over the comm link.

Checking his omni-tool, John realized they had only seconds until the explosion. "Run!" he shouted, grabbing Liara's arm, and running towards the elevator.

As soon as they had scrambled aboard, John slammed his fist onto the elevator's control panel. As the doors slid shut, Tali saw a flash of light, and closed her eyes.

The elevator rose quickly, but the blast from the neutron purge reached them nonetheless. Tali kept her eyes squeezed shut as the elevator began to shake, throwing its occupants to the ground.

When the elevator's shaking ceased, Tali slowly opened her eyes. Glancing around, she realized that she was, in fact, still alive. On the other side of the small elevator car, John was the second to sit up, extricating himself from under one of Wrex's heavy arms. He groaned as he did so, wondering if Wrex had managed to crack one of his ribs.

Looking at Tali, John smiled. "Hi."

Tali glared back at him. "You almost got yourself killed, and all you have to say is 'hi'?" Though her voice was angry, she reached across the elevator and squeezed his hand.

"I seem to remember a certain quarian risking her life too," John retorted, laughter in his eyes.

"Well I couldn't just leave Garrus down there."

"Thank you Tali," said Garrus, as he pushed himself to his feet. "I'm glad that someone appreciates my worth."

All chuckling, the three friends were the first to exit the elevator as it arrived on Rift Station's main level.

* * *

The Illusive Man allowed himself to smile. "Miranda, we found him."

Miranda sat up in her seat. She was sitting alone in the cafeteria on the Project Hammer research station. "Where?"

"One of our undercover operatives in Port Hanshan spotted the Normandy in the docking bay's logs. Shepard is on Noveria."

"Do we have any idea what he's doing there? Noveria isn't in Council Space."

"There have been reports of geth in the area. The Council might have him chasing after Saren."

Miranda frowned. "Would they entrust the newest Spectre with something like that? I thought they would be trying to keep it quiet."

"You can't keep something like that quiet. The geth attacked an entire colony. Word of Saren's betrayal is starting to leak out. Go to Noveria, but don't confront Shepard; follow him and see where he goes next."

"I will," said Miranda, terminating the connection.

Taking another drag from his cigarette, the Illusive Man mentally tallied Cerberus' resources in his head. Presently, humanity did not have near the resources required to fight Saren's geth on their own, even with the support of Cerberus' vast amount of credits. And, as always, the Council didn't give a damn about humanity's problems.

With Shepard, however, Cerberus would gain the opportunity to acquire the Council's resources. Then they could repel the geth invasion, and humanity would finally get its deserved place in the galaxy. At least, that was the theory; there were still many details to iron out.

Accessing the terminal that was embedded into his armchair, the Illusive Man connected to the extranet. The smuggling team had made good progress, reportedly, and was now waiting on Cerberus to get the more easily detected items aboard the Citadel. He wrote a quick message, sent it on its way, and released funds from a bank account connected to one of the many corporations owned by Cerberus.

Satisfied that was taken care of, the Illusive Man turned his attention to the most important matter: Shepard. How would he gain his trust and loyalty? The soldier had displayed a dismaying amount of trust towards aliens before he left the Citadel, and now his ship was full of them. It could be a hard sell, but he would have to convince Shepard that the only way to stop Saren would be to overthrow the Council and assert humanity's dominance.

A soft beep caused the Illusive Man to glance back down at the terminal. A single quarian ship had been spotted entering the Theseus system; it appeared to be a retrofitted civilian ship. To see a single ship far from the Migrant Fleet was unheard of, and it could not be coincidence that it had turned up in the same system where there were reports of geth. If the quarians had become bold enough to investigate the geth sightings, then it was only a matter of time until they went to war.

_Good, let them fight._ Maybe the quarians would reduce some of the geth's numbers before they were wiped out of existence.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter is dedicated to my classmate Jarrett, who passed away recently. Jarrett, I wish I could have gotten to know you better; you were such an inspiring person. It's so unfair what happened. Rest in peace, and know that you will be missed by so many people.

Keelah se'lai.


	16. Chapter 14: The Alien Queen

**Chapter 14: The Alien Queen**

The quarian vessel shuddered slightly as it arrived in the Theseus system. Rael glanced around warily; mass relay travel was risky, and the ship was old and recycled. It held together, however, and he smiled lightly to himself.

"Get us away from the relay," Rael ordered.

"Yes sir," Ferra replied.

Rael knew that they were most vulnerable near planets and the relay; the closer they were, the more likely they were to run into a geth patrol.

An hour later, after distancing themselves from the relay, Rael finally allowed Ferra to slow the ship, and the crew's tension eased somewhat. Turning to Jaro, Rael said, "Jaro, run diagnostics on every system. I don't care how long it takes; no unnecessary risks."

Jaro nodded to his superior, already running the diagnostics. "Yes, sir. Diagnostics are already twenty percent complete… so far, everything checks out, besides the one faulty thruster."

Rael scowled. The thruster had given out shortly after leaving the Migrant Fleet, and Ferra had been forced to disable the matching thruster so the ship would travel straight. When making preparations, Rael had asked for the best ship that they could spare, and this is what he got - a creaky, patchwork, glorified civilian shuttle, that had its power reduced by fifty percent. While the condition of the rest of the shuttle only hurt his pride, Rael did not like their odds of escaping from the geth with the limited power the two remaining thrusters could provide.

Glancing around the small cockpit, Rael felt a flash of anger. This is what his people were reduced to, because of one mistake they made three centuries ago. They hadn't even intended to create an AI; it seemed to have happened on its own. And then, terrified of their creation, his people tried to pull the plug, the most controversial decision that had ever been made by the Conclave, many argued.

Allowing his anger to dissipate, Rael reminded himself why he was so far from home: Tali. The thought of his daughter never seeing their homeworld drove him. Turning his anger into determination, Rael had fought tooth and nail to get this far. Investigating the geth was the first step in reclaiming Rannoch and giving Tali a real home.

Waking from his reverie, Rael glanced down at his terminal. The ship's diagnostics check had finished, and besides the two thrusters and the usual warnings, everything checked out.

"Everything checks out, Admiral," said Jaro, echoing Rael's thoughts.

"Initialize all the scanning equipment," Rael replied. "Let's find out how much our creation has evolved in the last three hundred years."

* * *

John's grin quickly faded when he realized how injured Wrex really was. He had never expected the krogan to act so rashly, and the Rachni's claws had done their job, despite his tough skin.

"Shepard," said Kaidan, a slight hint of urgency in his voice. "He needs a medic."

John nodded. "Let's get him up."

Wrex, who was slumped against the wall and looking around dazedly, muttered, "I'm fine."

"Hold on, Shepard," said Garrus, who was the last to step out of the small elevator. "Ventralis sent us down to the hot labs to find Benezia, right? The only things down there were a bunch of acid-spitting aliens."

"Yeah, maybe Ventralis set us up," John replied. "But we have to try to get Wrex to the doctor."

"So we'll get him help, but I don't like just walking in there. Let's give him some medigel and scout ahead."

"He's right, Shepard," Wrex coughed. "There's no point walking in there and getting all of us killed."

"All right, but we're going to have to be quick," said John, as he began applying the remainder of his medigel to Wrex's most grievous wounds. "Even with the medigel he isn't going to last long."

Wrex grunted. "You'd be surprised at what a krogan can survive, Shepard."

After slowing the krogan's bleeding to the best of his ability, John stood. "Garrus, Ashley, you're with me."

Nodding, Ashley grabbed her rifle from the floor. "I'm ready."

As John crossed the room and stepped onto the elevator that would take him to the upper levels of the research facility, he felt Tali's eyes on the back of his neck. Turning to face her as the elevator doors closed, he gave her a small smile. As soon as the elevator began to rise, however, John let the smile fade from his lips. If Ventralis really had turned hostile, they had one hell of a fight on their hands.

"So we're screwed, right?" Ashley asked.

John glanced at her, a look of mild surprise on his face. "If we get attacked by all of Ventralis' guards, then yeah, probably."

"Oh well," Garrus shrugged. "I can think of a lot worse ways of going out. At least we'll be in good company."

"If this goes bad, we need to make sure one of us radios the others."

Garrus nodded. "Cheer up, Shepard. You faced a lot worse on Elysium."

John eyes flashed angrily. "Countless other soldiers gave up their lives that day, and that's the only reason I'm still alive."

Ashley remained silent, but knew John's words were true. She had seen the list of casualties. Though John's skill and determination played major roles in his survival that day, luck had been his number one ally.

The elevator began to slow as it reached its destination. Checking his rifle with practiced efficiency, John muttered, "Here we go."

The doors slid open to reveal an empty room. Rifle raised, Garrus exited the elevator first, scanning the room for hostiles. After confirming it was clear, he motioned for Ashley and John to follow him in.

Ventralis and his men had abandoned their post; a gun lying haphazardly on the ground indicated that they had left in a hurry. The door leading to the common area had blood smeared across it.

"It looks like they didn't waste any time getting out of here," Ashley muttered.

"They could have been running from the Rachni," said John, indicating the blood smear.

Garrus shrugged. "Maybe, but I find it hard to believe that the Rachni overwhelmed them. They held out for a long time before we even got here."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said John, as he approached the blood smeared door and opened it.

Following the hallway, John was acutely aware of the loudness of his footsteps. It was difficult to be stealthy in what amounted to a metal tube; anyone that was half-listening would hear them from a mile away.

Approaching the door that led to the common area, John listened for any sounds, but heard nothing. With his rifle still raised, he opened the door and stepped into the room.

Ventralis spun around as John entered, rifle in his hands. As he raised it, he had a genuine look of regret on his face.

"I'm sorry, Shepard," said Ventralis, motioning for his men to move forward. "I've been ordered to take you to Lady Benezia. Lower your weapons, and no one else has to die today."

John shook his head. "The others saw this coming, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I should have known better."

"I have no choice. Benezia is my boss."

Garrus, who had moved up alongside John, said, "You always have a choice, Ventralis. What did she offer you? Credits? Power? I've seen it happen a thousand times."

"Enough credits to support my family for the rest of their lives. I won't have to risk my life in a place like this every day just to put food on the table."

"If you knew what Benezia and Saren are going to do if they succeed, you would never have taken that deal," said John. "You're a good man, Ventralis. You just don't see what's going on behind the scenes."

"Then enlighten me."

John shrugged. "I'll give you the short version. Benezia is working for Saren, a rogue Spectre. Saren is trying to bring back the Reapers, a race of sentient machines that wiped out the Protheans and all life in the galaxy. The geth, which you've probably heard of recently, are working with Saren because they believe that the Reapers are the pinnacle of synthetic life. We don't know what Saren's motivations are."

Ventralis seemed to consider John's words, but did not lower his rifle. "Got any proof?"

Lowering his rifle and activating his omni-tool, John said, "I do."

Shock flickered across Ventralis' face as Benezia's voice echoed through the empty room. The damning evidence was irrefutable.

Speaking quietly, Ventralis said, "So, the other voice - that was Saren?"

John nodded. "Yeah. We think the Conduit might be what Benezia is after here on Noveria."

After ordering his men to stand down, Ventralis said, "All right, Shepard. Whatever you need, you get."

"First, we need a doctor."

* * *

Miranda holstered her pistol on her hip before stepping out of the small Cerberus ship. Port Hanshan's security had proved easy to manipulate; as far as they were aware, she had changed course away from the port when challenged by approach control. Glancing around the dock, Miranda noticed only one guard, who was standing watch near the Normandy. He seemed mildly surprised by the arrival of another ship, but did not bother to call it in.

_His mistake._

The bullet went through the guard's head before he could even register that the attractive woman approaching him was a threat. Moving quickly past the body, Miranda walked up the boarding ramp and approached the Normandy's hull.

"There should be an access panel just inside of the airlock," a voice said through Miranda's earpiece. "Watch out for the camera above the inner door."

Activating the airlock's controls, Miranda shielded her face from the camera as she entered. Quickly glancing along the right wall, she found the access panel and pulled it open.

"This doesn't look anything like the blueprints," Miranda hissed, glancing through the airlock door as an alarm sounded.

"The blueprints were from an early prototype, so it's not surprising that the design has-"

"I don't care if they changed it," Miranda replied angrily. "Find me another way before the whole security team gets down here."

After a moment of silence, the man said, "How much time do you have?"

Listening for footsteps, Miranda replied, "Not long."

Grunting in frustration, the man said, "Try the port on the bottom left. It's the most likely."

Activating her omni-tool, Miranda connected it to the port and said, "Well?"

"Hold on," came the reply. "It looks good…"

The sudden sound of the outer airlock door closing caused Miranda to glance up in alarm. "They're trying to lock me in."

"See the thick cord? Pull it out!"

Activating her biotics, Miranda did as she was instructed. A moment later she was rewarded by the airlock door halting in its motion.

"It's stopped," Miranda reported.

"Good. The transfer should almost be complete."

A moment later, her omni-tool reported that the operation was complete, and she detached it from the access panel.

"It's done," Miranda radioed, as she closed the access panel and stepped through the half-closed airlock door. "Can you confirm on your end?"

"We've got the signal," came the triumphant reply.

Peering around the edge of the Normandy's boarding ramp, Miranda saw two guards approaching her position. Noticing how heavily armoured they were, she realized that the element of surprise was her only advantage.

The guard on the left noticed Miranda first, and was rewarded for his observance with three bullets from her pistol. Only the last shot made it through his shields, and as he attempted to struggle to his feet, Miranda kicked him in the jaw. The second guard, who had already managed to fire two shots into her shields, met Miranda's fist just as she activated her biotics.

Though both men lay still, she put a bullet into each of their heads before boarding her ship.

* * *

Joker swore for the third time. The woman in the airlock had connected her omni-tool to one of the ports in the access panel, and the ship's computers began locking up.

Addressing the Normandy's VI, Joker shouted, "Status report!"

"Unauthorized access has been detected in system-level processes. I am losing control."

Pressly chose this moment to come bursting into the cockpit. Glancing over the video streams on Joker's console, which were disappearing one by one, he said, "Trap her in the airlock!"

Typing quickly, Joker hit the confirm button. "Command sent. The outer door should be closing."

On the video stream from the airlock, Joker saw Miranda look up from the access panel in alarm. Smirking, he muttered, "Gotcha."

"Is she trapped?" Pressly asked.

"She will be. I've notified Port Hanshan security, they should-"

Joker cut himself off as a warning flashed up on his console. Glancing back at the video feed, he swore. "Son of a…"

"Why's the door stopping?" Pressly asked angrily.

"She pulled out a bunch of cords."

As the virus finished transferring to the Normandy's computers, ship-wide alarms started going off, alerting all crew members to get to battle stations.

"Screw it," Pressly growled. "I'm going out there."

"Don't bother," Joker replied. "She's already gone."

Struggling to his feet, Joker opened the coverings on the cockpit windshield and peered out into the space dock. He watched in shock as Miranda executed two heavily armed guards, before climbing back into her ship.

"Good thing you didn't go out there," Joker commented. "She knows how to fight."

As Miranda's ship rocketed out of the dock past the Normandy, Joker opened a comm-channel to the colony's security team. "Port Hanshan security, this is the Normandy. She's gone."

Pressly, who looked like he could use a drink, sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "Try to alert Shepard and then shut down all systems. We can't have the computer running until we figure out what she did."

Nodding, Joker attempted to contact John. "Shepard, this is the Normandy. We have a big problem over here."

Static.

"The blizzard must still be blocking communications," said Joker, shrugging.

"Okay Joker," Pressly said grimly. "Shut it down."

* * *

John _was_ surprised at what a krogan could survive. Doctor Cohen reported that though one of Wrex's lungs had sustained damage, curiously, the Battlemaster was breathing normally.

Wrex chuckled when he heard the news. "I'll be just fine, Doc. Obviously you are not familiar with krogan physiology."

With his wounds patched up, Wrex stretched and got up from the medical table. "All right, Shepard. Let's go."

Grinning, John shook his head. "I guess we didn't have much to worry about after all."

Wrex nodded. "Krogan are a little more… durable than the rest of you. How's the leg?"

"It's fine," John lied. Truthfully, he had felt an unfortunately familiar pain creeping back into his leg as soon as the adrenaline had begun leaving his bloodstream.

Rolling his eyes, Cohen said, "I better give you another dose. Have you rested it yet?"

"No," John replied. "The Rachni weren't exactly willing to give me a break."

This time, the doctor made no attempt at giving John any advice as he rummaged through his cabinets. Instead, he simply gave John the injection and said, "You're going to regret this."

Smiling, John said, "Thanks doc."

Heading up the stairs for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, John quickly located Ventralis standing amongst his men. As he approached, Ventralis glanced in his direction, and dismissed the soldiers.

Activating his omni-tool, Ventralis pulled up a map and pointed at a room. "Benezia is in the large lab here. I think that's where the scientists were keeping the Rachni queen."

"Whatever she wants with the queen, it can't be good," said Garrus, who had walked up behind John silently.

John glanced over his shoulder and then nodded. "We need to get down there."

"Good luck to you, Shepard," said Ventralis, who saluted. "And be careful. Benezia's biotics pack a nasty punch."

Returning the salute, John said, "Stay safe, Captain."

As John and Garrus turned and began walking towards the rest of the Normandy's crew, Garrus said, "I'm impressed, Shepard. Most people wouldn't have been able to resolve that peacefully."

John shrugged. "All I did was tell him the truth."

By now, John's limp was more noticeable, despite Cohen's painkiller. Tali, who was watching from across the room, frowned in concern.

Approaching his crew, John activated his omni-tool and pulled up the same map that Ventralis had shown him. Gathering everyone around, John indicated the room that Benezia was in.

"This is where Benezia is?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah," John replied. "There are two entrances."

Kaidan allowed a small smile to cross his face as he began to understand John's plan. "I'll take Wrex and Garrus?"

John nodded. "Tali, Ashley, Liara, and I should be able to hold our own while you come around the back."

"And then we'll finish her off from behind," said Kaidan, finishing John's thought. "That might work, unless Benezia knows how many of us there are."

"I think it's still our best option. Even if she does see it coming, attacking from either side will give us an advantage."

"Sounds like it could work," said Ashley, who pulled her helmet on. "Let's do it."

As Kaidan led Garrus and Wrex away, John noticed a deep sadness displayed on Liara's face. "What's wrong, Liara?"

"While I despise what my mother has done, there is never any joy in watching a parent die," Liara replied, being careful to not show any emotion.

"There's still a chance you can convince her to stop what she's doing."

Liara shook her head slowly. "The Benezia I knew would never do something like this… I don't know her anymore. As far as I'm concerned, she's already dead, and nothing can bring her back."

Tali, who had been listening silently while checking her shotgun, said, "Have hope, Liara."

"I did have hope!" Liara exclaimed. "But the more we investigated, the more we found out about the terrible things she's done. Even if I made her stop what she was doing, I could never look at her the same way again."

John sighed. "There's nothing I can say to help stop the pain you are feeling, Liara. But here's what we can do: we go in there and avenge everyone she has hurt."

Clenching her jaw, Liara nodded. "I'm ready."

* * *

John entered the room as quietly as possible. Benezia stood on a raised platform, gazing into a large tank, which contained what could only be the Rachni queen.

Without looking towards John, Benezia said, "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies."

Turning to face the intruders, Benezia continued, "I won't be moved by sympathy, no matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara's here because she wants to be, not because I asked her to," said John. "Though, I don't think she's looking for sympathy."

"Indeed? Why _are_ you here, Liara?"

Liara stepped forward, a terrible mixture of anger and sorrow on her face. "I needed to look you in the eyes after what you've done."

Benezia looked almost amused at the pain that was displayed on her daughter's face. "You haven't seen anything yet. Saren is just getting started."

"What could he possibly have offered you to do this?"

"Saren showed me the truth. The Reapers _are_ coming, Liara, but if we help them, bow to them, they will let us live."

"So you're trying to save the galaxy by destroying it?"

"The galaxy's destruction is inevitable, but we can make the best of it. Come with me."

"You are insane."

Benezia's expression hardened. Addressing John, she said, "Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

"I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter," said John, who began lining up his rifle's sights with Benezia's head.

"I now realize I should have been stricter with her!"

Benezia dove behind cover as John began firing. Her back against the wall, she smirked as the door across the room opened. Her smile faded immediately, however, when instead of the asari commando squad, Wrex entered the room, flanked by Garrus and Kaidan. On the floor behind them, the corpse of one of the commandos was visible.

Focusing her attention on Wrex, Benezia slammed him into the wall with powerful biotics before he could come close enough to use his shotgun. Ashley took the chance to land a number of shots on Benezia's shields, forcing her back into cover.

Suddenly, a loud shot rang out through the room as Garrus pulled the trigger on his sniper rifle. Benezia's shields failed immediately.

"It's over, Benezia!" John shouted.

"I will not betray him," said Benezia. "You will… you…"

John and Liara approached Benezia slowly, their pistols trained on her head. Garrus, who had repositioned, kept her within his crosshairs.

Suddenly Benezia looked up, locking eyes with Liara. "You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions, but only briefly; the indoctrination is strong."

John noticed Liara's finger moving to the trigger of her pistol, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Let her speak."

"People are not themselves around Saren," said Benezia. "You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is his ship, Sovereign."

"Is that what happened to you?" John asked.

"Yes. I could turn on you at any moment, but it would not be my will, Shepard."

Liara shook her head, a sad look on her face. "You are lying. You would never have been on Saren's ship unless you intended to join him."

"I thought I was strong enough to fight it," Benezia explained. "I was trying to stop him. The indoctrination is subtle at first, but before you know it you are a willing servant."

"What did he want you to come here for?" John asked.

"Saren wants the location of the Mu relay. Its location was lost, but the Rachni can pass on memories between generations, so I took it from the queen's mind. I was not gentle."

"What does he need the Mu relay for?" Liara asked, lowering her pistol slightly.

"He thinks it can help him find the Conduit. Here, I have put the relay's location onto an OSD. Take it, please!"

Liara accepted the small device. "Knowing the relay's coordinates is not enough. Do you know where Saren planned to go from there?"

"Saren did not share his plans with me. The relay has many destinations, but which one he is interested in, I could not say. You must find out quickly - I transmitted the coordinates to him just before you arrived."

"We'll stop him," John vowed.

"You must stop… me, too," said Benezia, panting. "I can't- he's in my head. Do it now, before…"

"On the Normandy, we have a doctor who knows everything about asari physiology. She might be able to-"

"No. I will never be myself again."

"Mother!" Liara shouted, taking a step towards Benezia. "Don't leave. Fight him!"

Backing away, Benezia spoke quietly. "You have always made me proud, Liara. Remember me as I was, before Saren claimed my mind."

"I won't let you- there's still a chance-"

"My mind is not entirely my own. It never will be again. There is no alternative."

Tears began flowing down Liara's cheeks as John raised his pistol. Smiling at her daughter, Benezia said, "Good night, Little Wing. I will see you again with the dawn."

Liara looked away as John pulled the trigger. The room went silent as the sound of John's pistol echoed; even Wrex did not speak.

A minute later, John broke the silence. "Let's go."

As he turned to leave, Tali grabbed his arm. "Shepard…"

John stepped back in alarm as Benezia's body brushed past him, moving towards the Rachni queen's prison. Raising his assault rifle, he moved towards her.

"This one serves as our voice," said Benezia. "We cannot sing in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless."

"It's the Rachni queen," said Liara, who had approached silently. "It's speaking… through her."

"We are the mother," said the queen. "We speak for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni."

Stepping past Benezia, John looked into the tank that held the queen. She looked like the other Rachni soldiers he had seen, but was much, much larger.

"Did you order your children to attack the science team?" John asked.

"No, we were locked away here," the queen replied. "The children are beyond our songs… they have been lost to silence.

"What will _you _sing? Will you release us? Or are we to fade away once more?"

"That tank is rigged with acid," said Garrus. "One button press will kill it."

Liara shook her head. "They made a mistake. They let the krogan go too far. This is a chance for us to atone."

"If I let you live, would you attack other races again?" John asked.

"No. We- I do not know what happened in the war. We heard only discordance, songs the color of oily shadows.

"We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps we would return."

John averted his gaze for a moment, deep in thought. The queen had shown no signs of aggression towards them, but could simply be lying so he would set her free. However, despite the risks, John would never allow himself to be responsible for the genocide of an entire race.

Looking back up at the queen, John said, "I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free."

"You will give us a chance to compose anew? We will remember, and we will sing of your forgiveness to our children."

"No way, Shepard!" Wrex bellowed, storming towards him. "We exterminated the Rachni for a reason."

"This queen is different," John replied calmly, meeting Wrex's glare. "She understands why her race had to be eradicated last time."

"Millions of krogan died to put them down. If we hadn't stopped them, the Rachni would have taken over the galaxy! Do not let them come back."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm with the krogan on this one," said Ashley.

"Enough!" John shouted. "I will not be responsible for the genocide of any race, even if it is the Rachni. If you have a problem with that, you'll have to go through me before you can kill her."

Wrex grinned and stretched. "That wouldn't be hard."

"You'll have to go through me too," said Kaidan, raising his rifle. "I trust the Commander's judgement."

Tali and Liara did the same, followed by Garrus and eventually Ashley, silently acknowledging their trust in their commander.

Finally breaking eye contact with John, Wrex glared at the rest of the squad. "I hope you all really do trust Shepard. If he's wrong, all of our children's children will pay the price."

* * *

John frowned in concern as he stepped into Port Hanshan's docking bay. Thick cables ran along the ground, up the boarding ramp, and into the Normandy. The airlock door was wide open, and John saw Joker limping around as quickly as he could, yelling at workers not to wreck anything. In short, it was chaos.

"What the hell is going on here?" John asked as he boarded his ship.

Pressly noticed John's entrance and hurried over. "Commander, we've got a problem."

John sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What happened?"

"A woman broke into the airlock and put some sort of virus onto our computer systems. We're just now getting everything back online."

"Did the cameras get her face?"

"No, she knew where the airlock camera was and shielded her face. She was definitely a professional."

John's mind reeled as he thought back to the message he had received from Anderson. "I need to make a call. Let me know as soon as everything is operational."

"Will do, Commander."

Tali, who saw the concerned look on John's face, hurried after him. She caught up to him on the stairs that led down to the second deck.

John glanced over his shoulder as she approached, and managed to fake a small smile. "Hey."

"What's going on?" Tali asked. "You looked worried."

John's smile faded. "Do you remember the message I got from Captain Anderson, about the woman who was asking about me on the Citadel?"

Tali nodded. "You think she was here?"

"I'm not sure," John said as he entered his cabin. "I need to send the airlock's security footage to Anderson. Maybe C-Sec can verify whether or not it's the same person."

Tali took a few steps into the room and stopped. It lacked decoration, but was much nicer than anything she was used to. On the flotilla, she would have been assigned a living space not much larger than the Normandy's airlock.

"You get all this to yourself?" Tali asked.

John gave her an amused look. "I'm the commanding officer. Though, I suppose there's _one_ person I wouldn't mind sharing with."

Tali felt herself blushing furiously as John sat in front of the computer in the corner of the room. Chuckling, he said, "Make yourself at home."

Despite his best attempts, Tali could tell that John was hiding his true emotions; there was an intense sadness in his eyes. When he noticed that she was staring, he averted his gaze.

"No one should have ever asked you to do something like that," Tali said quietly. "But you had no choice."

"I know," John replied. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about it."

After a few minutes of silence, John continued, "I killed her mother in front of her. What kind of person does that?"

"A person who has no other options."

"I could have at least let her leave the room. I didn't even think of it."

"There was no time, Benezia was losing control again. It would have been worse for Liara to see her mother turned back into Saren's thrall."

Looking up at Tali, John finally relented. "Do you think she'll forgive me?"

Tali nodded. "There's nothing to forgive; you did the right thing."

"Thanks Tali."

Tali smiled, and then remembering that John could not see her face, nodded. "I'll give you some privacy. Let me know when it's time for the debriefing."

As Tali exited the room, John booted up his console. Due to the repairs that were still ongoing, he was unable to get a connection to call Anderson. Instead, he had to settle for typing a message and queuing it to send when the Normandy's computers were back up and running.

_TO: David Anderson_

_SUBJECT: Trouble_

_Anderson,_

_I ran into some trouble while on Noveria. I think it might be our mystery woman._

_I'm heading to the Citadel; we need to talk in person._

_Shepard_

With the message waiting to be delivered, John limped towards the medical bay.

* * *

Sorry for my absence. Unfortunately, university has been taking up _a lot_ more of my time than I originally thought it would, but that does not mean I have any plans to stop writing. During my spare time, I've been trying to improve the storyline I have planned out, which is easier said than done.

I've also been working on this chapter slowly for the past couple of weeks. The story updates will continue to be slow as I approach final exams, but should pick up again over the Christmas break and beginning of next semester.

While I've got your attention, I have a couple more things to address. First, I'd like to thank LordValmar for the review he posted on the last chapter. In his review, he pointed out some errors I've made regarding the Mass Effect Universe's lore. Though I'm a huge fan of the games, I haven't read the comics or the novels, so my knowledge of some of the backstory is limited. Since I currently don't have enough time to read up on everything, I'm just going to go with what I have. Hopefully the changes I make won't be too drastic, and you guys won't mind too much.

Second, I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck around though all of this, despite my rather inconsistent updates. The last thing I want to do is leave you without updates, but unfortunately, school has to come first.

And lastly, I'd just like to let you know that from here on out, I will spell Kaidan's name correctly. :)

**Update:** I totally forgot that Wrex should have something to say about releasing the Rachni queen. I've added that in now.


End file.
